Heney demands proper consultation on Clontarf flood defence

Cllr. Deirdre Heney, Fianna Fáil has voiced her serious concerns about the proposed flood barrier along the Clontarf seafront and demands a period of proper consultation with local residents.

 

She said ‘When this matter was initially put to Councillors by senior Council officials the height was to be 1.2 meters.  During the planning process and discussions between Dublin City Council, An Bord Pleanála and the Office of Public Works, the height then went from 1.2 to 2.75m without any consultation with local residents or Clontarf Councillors.”

 

Referring to a recent meeting with City Council management Heney said “I and other Councillors strongly argued on behalf of residents that the new height cannot and must not go ahead. We made it very clear to the Manager that the height he is proposing is most definitely not on.”  She said “The Manager did acknowledge he had failed to adequately communicate with us on the new flood barrier height and agreed that we needed to try and find a resolution to the problem.  He gave a commitment that no decision would be taken on the matter prior to his giving Councillors a full report on the project and an opportunity for Councillors to further address the issue at our next City Council meeting on November 7th.”

 

The Manager also said that over the next three weeks, City Council would engage with residents, businesses and the OPW in an effort to try and reach agreement on an acceptable flood alleviation project where insurance would not be an issue.  Cllr. Heney said that “Clontarf residents want a flood defence barrier but not one that’s 2.75m in height”.  She went on to say that “the matter could not be resolved in a couple of weeks because stakeholders needed time to work together in a sensible and collaborative manner so as to achieve a balanced resolution to this debacle.”