GAA accepts end of the Hill

The GAA has accepted in principle that the Hill 16 terrace will have to go, in accordance with last month's decision of An Bord Pleanala. A revised application to vary the timetable of implementation is being prepared for Dublin Corporation.

This approach will come as a disappointment to those who have been advocating the retention of Hill 16 as a cultural amenity, but once An Bord Pleanala, the highest authority on planning matters, had made its mind up, there was no realistic chance that the terracing would be retained.

There had been speculation that the decision would be taken to court by the GAA for judicial review, but this is understood to be no longer under consideration. Even had the judicial review been successful, the matter would still have had to be brought back to An Bord Pleanala for a further hearing.

Some surprise had been expressed at the planning board's ord's decision as it went against the recommendation of their appointed inspector and based its argument for replacement of terracing outside the findings of the Hamilton report on safety at sports grounds.

Among the conclusions of that report was that: "There was no reason to believe terraces cannot remain a perfectly safe area for viewing major sporting events". The safety of the Hill had also been attested by the relevant fire officer.

The GAA was baffled at the time by the finding, given that the objections of the residents who had taken the appeal were primarily based on factors outside of the stadium pertaining to crowds entering and leaving the ground. Yet Bord Pleanala made its decision based on factors inside the stadium, namely, the safety of terraces.

The decision which halted the Croke Park redevelopment was to the effect that the GAA must proceed with the seating of Hill 16 before redeveloping the Hogan Stand. The order came as a major headache not because it entailed the loss of terracing but because all plans were geared towards completing phases two (Canal End, currently in progress) and three (Hogan Stand) before finally moving to the Hill.

As a result, the association faced the prospect of having to postpone phase three until after Hill 16 had been seated. Now it appears that an alternative option is being investigated, namely, to accept the seating of the terraces but to re-apply to Dublin Corporation for planning permission to install the seats as phase four of the development, as was originally planned.

Were such an application to succeed, there would be the chance that it could be appealed again to Bord Pleanala, but the redevelopment would be back on track. Originally the plan had been to construct two complementary terraces at the Railway End of Croke Park, taking up the space currently filled by the Hill and the Nally Stand.

Those plans will have to be shelved and the whole development re-appraised. Suggestions that temporary seats could be installed on the Hill appear to be groundless as they would not meet the requirements of the planners' decision. But precisely what type of seats will be installed will have to be considered by the architects and other consultants. Hill 16 has a capacity of 11,000. As a consequence of implementing the decision, the capacity of the ground will drop by about 4,000.

Concerns are being expressed by the GAA that the decision could affect other grounds around the country. There are no major all-seater stadia in Ireland, and it is thought that should other units of the GAA or other sporting associations wish to develop their existing facilities, they might be subject to the same all-seater restrictions should their plans be contested at the highest level.

An Bord Pleanala is not, however, bound by previous decisions and each case would be considered on its individual merits. Given that the decision was so out-of-kilter with the inspector's report, there is a reduced likelihood of a precedent being set.

Demolition of the Hogan was not scheduled to take place before the end of September and the conclusion of the All-Ireland finals. An optimistic projection is that the current difficulty will delay the development by no more than two months. On that time scale the development will be complete, if not fully finished, for the 2001 All-Ireland finals.

Plans to demolish Ceannarus are also on hold, not so much because of the planning decision but because the GAA hasn't yet finalised alternative office accommodation.