17 May 2023

Goatstown LAP

The Goatstown Local Area Plan (LAP) has been officially scrapped by the Council. What is an LAP? LAPs are the furthest down the chain in the hierarchy of development plans used by the government/ Councils to determine planning rules/ guidelines in Ireland. There used to be one for the Goatstown area, however after rolling it over without updating it four years ago, the time had come, apparently, to completely scrap it. When questioned about this at our recent yearly deputation meeting with the Council, we were told some provision has been made within the County Development Plan in respect of Goatstown – in particular the inclusion of a Specific Local Objective (SLO) to designate The Goat area as more of a village centre, rather than just purely residential. So that’s it basically, our very own LAP distilled down to an SLO on a map.

The Goatstown LAP had been pretty much useless in recent years (with national legislation trumping even County Development Plans), but it was a nice dream to have while it lasted, i.e. that local development plans might actually influence development and planning in local areas. If you think this is a backward step, we recommend you contact the County Councillors.

29 Apr 2023

Landscaping Roebuck Green

The Committee are delighted to announce the next phase of our plan to upgrade the Green on Farmhill / Larchfield Road! This is due to start next week. 

This is the final step in a long journey that started out in 2016. In March 2021, the first phase of development work began. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council delivered on its commitment to work with the Association in transforming the Green when it laid the new beige path, embedded 4 new benches, planted 7 new trees, introduced two grassed mounds and laid hoggin paved areas around the benches.

In keeping with the overall project plan agreed between us and the Council, the final phase will be undertaken and funded by the Association. This phase consists of planting a mixed collection of shrubs and plants that will enhance the Green further for the enjoyment of our residents. The planting, a major undertaking requiring professional expertise, will be carried out for us by Redlough Landscapers, and will take 7 to 10 days. Redlough will be retained for one year to ensure the planting beds in, and will advise our Tidy Districts Team as to how to look after and maintain the plants in the longer term.

Background note: 
In our first year as an Association (2015/16), we began the task of reviving the Green by setting up a grass-cutting rota, planting flowers, painting the bench and introducing planters. Our Tidy Districts group and the Committee started thinking about what we might try to do to improve the Green in the long term. It was decided to devise a plan that would transform the Green, rather than improving it haphazardly. We engaged a landscape architect with this in mind – Tim Austin and Associates. Our plan was to create a space where people can relax and chat, rest or read, in a safe and enhanced environment. It’s called “place-making”, with the emphasis on the community living in the area, as opposed to those just passing through.

The plan was to improve and increase the seating, improve the pathway, and re-landscape the space, including some banking to be planted with shrubs, which will reduce traffic noise while adding colour and biodiversity. We are also planning to include a notice board for residents. The Committee and the Tidy Districts group went through a number of iterations of the project plan with the Council to achieve the best possible outcome for the community.

We are looking forward to a beautifully landscaped Green that will be used by the whole community for years to come.

The current Committee would like to thank all of the past committee members and the Tidy Districts Team for all their input and dedication to bringing this plan to fruition. There may be some disruption in the next few weeks but we are looking forward to a beautifully landscaped Green that will be used by the whole community for years to come.

01 Mar 2023

Local Police Forum

Local Policing Fora were established under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 to provide a platform for the Community, An Garda Síochána and your Local Authority to come together in a structured way to identify issues relating to:
• Policing in your area
• Anti-social behaviour
• Estate Management

A representative from our committee attends these meetings. For more information see this booklet or click here.

20 Feb 2023

IGB – Permission Granted

DLR Council has very recently (15/2/23) granted permission for the temporary buildings for Goatstown Educate Together Secondary School on the IGB site. The Council’s Request for Further Information was answered by the Department at the start of February, and issues such as permeability were approached more to the Council’s liking.

The end result is there will be three pedestrian/cyclist entrances to the site, at Mount Carmel Road, Farmhill Road and the original entrance at Goatstown Road, with a new vehicular entrance on Goatstown Road, a little further north than the current one. There will also be a new pelican pedestrian crossing close to the current entrance.

The pedestrian/cyclist entrances on Mount Carmel and Farmhill Roads will be open 8am-5pm weekdays. The paths through the site will be fenced and there will be no public access to the open land at the back of the site. (The temporary school buildings will be located more to the front/Goatstown Road side of the site.)

You can see the Association’s observation on the RFI here.

20 Feb 2023

OLG – Permission Quashed

The two residents in The Grove who took on a judicial review in respect of the SHD student resident development on the Our Lady’s Grove campus have been successful. Justice David Holland’s judgement of 17/2/23, quashes the planning permission on four grounds:
– Open Character of site (Para 149-181)
– Density (Para 182-229)
– Daylight Analysis, SPPR3 (Para 378-470)
– Tree Planting – Commensurate Trees Condition (Para 522-591)

He adjourned to later this month the question of whether it should be sent back to the board for reconsideration or simply quashed. His provisional view was also that the couple should be awarded their costs.

Some links to media articles about the judgement:
Breakingnews.ie
Extra.ie
Irish Times

17 Jan 2023

Cardiac First Response-Community Course

Following on from the installation of our new defibrillator down at the shops (code to open: C159X), we’re organising a Cardiac First Response-Community course.

It’s a once-off 4 hour course run by St. John Ambulance at their premises on Upper Leeson Street. The course teaches CPR, the use of AEDs, and how to recognise and treat heart attacks, stroke and choking. The ratio is 1:6 instructors to learners. Successful participants will be issued with a Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC) certificate which is valid for 2 years.

The course will be held on a Saturday. We’re aiming for the end of February (24th), but it will depend on how many are interested in doing it. We may need to organise multiple courses.

The cost per person is €20, plus 66c for the online processing fee. (The actual cost is €60 per person, but the Residents’ Association will be covering the difference.)

If you are interested in doing this course, please fill out this form:

https://forms.gle/ET4iWyuRYA4ZXCmz9. The link to pay can be found at the end of that form.

This course is for current Roebuck Residents’ Association members only. If you are not sure if you are a member of the Association or not, please see here for the area we cover. If you do not live in this area, unfortunately you cannot become a member. If you do live in this area, you need to have paid your annual subscription to be a current member.

19 Dec 2022

Santa Tours Roebuck

Santa very generously took time out of his busy schedule to grace our presence (presents?) on Saturday. For the third year in a row he traveled by electric bike. He’s very committed to sustainable travel methods as we know. All the little Roebuckians were delighted to see him, and following his tour of the area he arrived back to the Green where some busy elves had set up a mulled wine station for the older boys and girls. Good luck on the big night Santa, and see you next year in Roebuck!

Santa tours Roebuck 2022

Thanks to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Council Council for part-funding this event.

20 Oct 2022

Hospice Coffee Morning Collection

Hospice Boxes were left in Roebuck Pharmacy and Lynam’s for a couple of weeks in
September. A sum of nearly €300 was collected, and the Association brought this up to €500.


Blackrock and Harold’s Cross Hospice are very thankful for our support. Thanks as always to Mairéad for organising.

17 Sep 2022

IGB – Further Information Required

The Council has replied to the Department of Education’s latest planning application for the IGB site. In the Notification of Request for Further Information, dated 2/9/22, the Council wants the site to be opened for pedestrian/cyclist permeability between Goatstown Road, Farmhill Road, Mount Carmel Road and Taney Avenue. They also want the land at the back to be publicly accessible. This is as per the conditions of the zoning on the site (F zoning). However they do say that as it’s an application for temporary buildings, they will consider time-limited openings, and also fenced-off areas, where required.

We believe the Department has up to 6 months to respond. Very disappointing for the schools, who need to be move onto this site as soon as possible.