Operator unhappy with bureaucracy on show as Fingal County Council asks for more information about plan
Among the issues council planners have raised with the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) is whether toilet facilities can be provided at the site. It has been asked to do a traffic survey of the adjacent road and a complete tree survey.
The DAA is understood to be unhappy at the level of bureaucracy its plan has met, given that it was trying to regularise an informal “airport viewing point” that has been in place for at least 30 years at Collinstown Lane, known to plane-spotters as The Mound.
In the application to Fingal it proposed installing an elevated viewing platform that would be sheltered and have seating and tables, with 22 parking spaces including two for disabled people and two for families.
DAA said it would install five bicycle stands, an electrical enclosure with solar PV Panels and a diverge lane in order to ensure safe access for traffic.
A previous image release of the proposed observation platform at Dublin Airport
“The facility will offer a clear view of the south runway as well as the cross runway, whilst providing shelter, seating, parking and lighting,” its application said.
However, the council’s planning department has raised a number of concerns, and described the absence of toilets as “disappointing” and “contrary to the ethos of universal design and quality placemaking”. It said the DAA should consider putting in eco toilets or Portaloos.
Planners also suggested the bicycle stands should be closer to the observation platform, recommended more street lighting and proposed changes to the way vehicles get in and out.
The response is understood to have dismayed the DAA, which thought its proposal to regularise and improve the ad-hoc site, including providing tables and chairs, would have been better received. The airport operator undertook extensive pre-planning engagement with Fingal before putting in the application.
Company sources say the current mound is weed-laden, and partly mud
A DAA spokesperson said the agency regarded the proposed observation facility as a significant net positive in every respect, “most notably from a safety and environmental perspective, and it will now reassess the proposal in light of the request for further information”.
Company sources say the current mound is weed-laden, and partly mud, while its proposal is that the elevated deck would have proper landscaping.
Understood to be of particular frustration was the request to move the deck somewhere else in order to address traffic issues, even though it has been at this location informally for decades, and given that a road-safety audit had reached a positive conclusion.
There is also some confusion at the request to plant trees around the site, “including native species and pollinator friendly plants”, with a three-year maintenance schedule to ensure the plantings become established.
The greatest annoyance is understood to be over the request to install toilets, with a source close to the company pointing out that loos are not obligatory in Fingal Council playgrounds.
