Madam, – Following the decision of An Bord Pleanála to reject Seán Dunne’s plans for Ballsbridge, the triumphant statements by local city councillors, TDs and residents associations are hard to accept at this time of rising unemployment and redundancy, particularly in the building industry.
I doubt if there are many construction workers living in Ballsbridge; if there were, perhaps we might see a different attitude among local public representatives. This project could create about 2,000 jobs, on and off the site, for over six years. This is substantially more than the number of jobs whose loss is rightly being resisted by the workers at Waterford Crystal and which is the focus of much public attention, support, and debate.
Apart from the potential job loss, a significant opportunity has been lost by the rejection of the redevelopment scheme, an imaginative and coherent example of 21st-century urban renewal.
Many of the local residents who opposed the proposed development also opposed the regeneration of Lansdowne Road stadium. Thankfully they lost that game.
The “nimbys” haven’t gone away, you know. – Yours, etc,