PLANS FOR 540 homes on lands owned by billionaires JP McManus and John Magnier in the Liffey Valley area of west Dublin have been knocked back by councillors.

Local politicians rejected a proposal to rezone the plot of land at St Edmundsbury, south of the Liffey, for residential use.

Councillors heard at Monday’s meeting of South Dublin County Council that some 1,266 submissions were received about the proposal for St Edmundsbury, with locals marching along a right-of-way through the greenfield site last weekend to voice their opposition to the plan.

In a report earlier this year, the chief executive of South Dublin County Council, Colm Ward, pushed ahead with plans to rezone sites across the suburban outskirts of Dublin, following the government pressuring councils last year to find more land for homes.

McManus and Magnier bought the total 274-acre site after an auction by Nama in 2013.

A map of the site as featured in the Irish Farmers Journal following the sale of the land in 2013 Irish Farmers Journal Irish Farmers Journal

Lucan councillor Helen Farrell told The Journal that she was glad to see the St Edmundsbury site rejected, as she argued that it was not just a site with important natural characteristics, but also because any future housing would suffer from being located away from public transport lines.

“I primarily object to greenfield sites being developed when there are a vast majority of derelict and vacant sites in Dublin city centre that have been left vacant for decades in some cases,” the Independent councillor said.

But Farrell said her heart “sank” when she saw that rezoning was approved for up to 1,000 homes at Finnstown Castle near Lucan. Further rezoning was approved for a site at Coldcut Road in Adamstown.

Farrell said there was a risk of future generations in the area suffering from a “soulless existence”, as they may suffer from “poor infrastructure, poor transport and a poor quality of life”.

“People are spending their lives commuting from Lucan to the city centre or Ballsbridge—two to four hours a day lost on commuting. There’s nothing left over in terms of quality of life or giving back to their community.”

The rezoning map under South Dublin County Council's plan.

Fellow Independent councillor Alan Hayes also voted to maintain St Edmundsbury’s current zoning status, but he was among the councillors who voted to rezone the lands at Finnstown Castle and Coldcut.

He explained that any housing plan will still need to go through the “proper planning process” even after rezoning, which will allow scrutiny of any builder’s plan.

“This is about us providing houses for over 6,000 families on the council housing list, and that’s well over 10,000 individuals,” Hayes said.

He added that he believes the council has been a “leader” at providing new sites for housing, such as in Adamstown and Clonburris, but added that the council risked “driving more people into homelessness” if it doesn’t supply land for housing.

“If the house doesn’t exist, then social housing tenants don’t get housed, and those who want to buy their first home or rent a home don’t have the option,” Hayes said.

“All of these cannot be housed if we don’t zone the land.”

Six of the sites are in the Lucan and Adamstown areas, three are in Clondalkin, including one in the area of Liffey Valley shopping centre. The remaining three sites are near the N7, in Newcastle, Rathcoole and Citywest.

Fianna Fáil councillor Trevor Gilligan, who represents the neighbouring Clondalkin area, told The Journal that he had abstained on the Coldcut vote, as he warned of increasing pressure being put on services in the area.

“It’s easy for someone not from this area, which has very heavy traffic, to point the finger when I’d say this area has done its bit to try and hit the figures,” Gilligan said.

The councillor said he would sit down with any government figure from his party to argue the case that the wider area has a strong record in providing housing.

“I’ve seen more and more people moving out of this area and going to Wexford and Wicklow, because they can buy for the same amount of money, and are not struggling for parking spaces or long commutes. That’s the trade-off that we’ve seen.”

In the chief executive’s report from earlier this year, Ward said the council had heard the concerns raised over parking and transport infrastructure in submissions made by local residents.

The council chief added amendments outlining that development of future housing on two sites – lands at Tubber Lane, Adamstown and in Finnstown, Lucan – may not commence until the proposed Dart+ Southwest line has commenced construction.