News and views on Greystones harbour and marina [SEE MODERATOR WARNING POST 1187]

pixbyjohn

DSC_6430 by pixbyjohn, on Flickr

MyPerfectCousin

Some news from EastCoast radio on Sispar's current plans.

http://newsfeed.eastcoast.fm/2011/06/plan-in-place-to-open-greystones.html

vinpaul

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Plan In Place To Open Greystones Harbour To The Public


Greystones Harbour is to be open to the public by early September.
Yesterday, Sispar, the developers behind the harbour development scheme told a meeting of town councillors that they intend to open temporary facilities by the end of August.
According to a statement released by Greystones Councillor Derek Mitchel, Sispar have agreed to take down most hoardings and replace them with decorative railings; Open the harbour beach and 2nd public slipway; Fence a large area for boat parking; Provide Car Parking and access to the new South Pier as well as moorings and Start building the Primary Health Centre which is to be completed within 12 months. It is also hoped to allow part of the public square to be finished. They will review demand for the marina and hope to put in temporary facilities at least during 2012. Further consultation is to take place with harbour users and residents next week.

Jammyc

That is good news, I gotta say.

Jimjay

Start building the health care centre! Does that mean they have nama permission or are going to build it anyway?

Good news but am a little sceptical until some work is started.

Fiachra2

Resonse form GUBOH to SISPAR plan. Not happy

THE GREYSTONES GIVE US BACK OUR HARBOUR group has rejected the plans for temporary access to the harbour put forward by developer Sispar at a meeting on Tuesday 28 June.



“We congratulate SISPAR for recognising the need to open up the harbour and engaging with the community about this,” said GUBOH spokesman Basil Miller. “However, we are unhappy with a number of features of the plan presented to us last night.”



The plans fall short of GUBOH’s objectives in several ways.

■First, this plans fails on timing. The proposed start date for the work means that the area of the harbour to be opened will not be available for public use until summer is over and the children have gone back to school.
Sispar mentioned public access next September. This is not good enough.

■The Sispar plan removes only about 70 metres of the hoardings.
Hundreds of metres will stay in place, all the way from the harbour entrance up along the North Beach Road, so that businesses and residents in the area will remain behind hoardings for at least 13 or 14 months, until September next year at the very earliest.



“This hoarding is damaging to local business and a huge imposition on residents. The medical centre could be constructed in a manner which allows much more hoarding to be removed,” Miller continued.

■The Sispar plan proposes the minimum public space.
Most of the space to the south of the slipway will be taken up by a 90-space car park together with the temporary access road to the boat pens and pier.



No green area is proposed. The public space on the shore side of the harbour is limited to the short beach and a narrow strip behind it, plus access to the upper level of the south pier.



“The Sispar plan includes less public space than any of the proposals submitted to the company,” said the GUBOH spokesman. “There is no green area, no seating, no picnic space, and no plaza. Instead, Sispar proposes to occupy most of the area with an ugly car park which could easily be located elsewhere.”



“Sispar would give no date last night for a start on the work, except to say it would not begin until end-July at the earliest. That guarantees that no public amenity will be available at the harbour for the fourth year in a row.



“It is not acceptable that the children of the community are unable to play in the harbour area for another summer. And it is not acceptable that businesses continue to suffer the effects of the hoardings on trade or that residents have to stare out at them for more than a year more.



“On a positive note, Paraic Keogh of Sispar did say that the company is open to suggestions to modify its plan. We will be writing immediately to Mr Keogh with helpful suggestions which would vastly increase the public space to be made available and result in removal of the hoardings from in front of residences and business premises along the Beach Road.”



GUBOH also have a concern about Sispar’s failure to open up the completed north end of the harbour to the public.



“Sispar’s plans will leave the area where it is proposed to build residential units as an unsightly building site. This is based on Sispar’s hope to start residential building in the near future. We believe, in the current economic climate, that this is unrealistic and we are very concerned that Greystones will be left with yet another boarded up site for years to come. We have asked Sispar to open up all areas of the harbour including the north pier and to landscape any part on which construction is not taking place,” stated Miller.



GUBOH welcomed the announcement that work will start on Building D, which will house apartments, retails space, offices, and the proposed Medical Centre.



“It’s a big step forward,” stated Miller. “We welcome Sispar’s decision to discount NAMA and to proceed with alternative funding for this lucrative commercial building.”



But GUBOH has concerns about proceeding with the medical centre and commercial development without satisfying the demands of the public.



“Sispar are proposing to complete the medical centre and some associated commercial development using their own funds. While the medical centre is a welcome facility, this feature will be a profitable development for the company. We have concerns about the equity of allowing Sispar to do this but failing to complete the club-houses and community facilities and leaving much of the harbour and north beach area shut off to the public, possibly for many years to come.”



Miller said that the GUBOH family event on Sunday 3 July will still be a celebration, but it will be a protest too.



“We said it would be a celebration if the outcome of the deliberations was that a decent, high quality plan of works to reopen the south end of the harbour would be acted on in time for it to reopen to the public by 1 August. We’re not getting that unless Sispar have a change of heart.



“As the Sispar plan falls short in all important respects, there will be an element of protest too — a party-style protest which will still be a fun day for families.

We have DUSTIN THE TURKEY, the King of Greystones Harbour. We will have a cameo perfromance by Phelim Drew, we will have music from The Big Muddie, Eoin Woods and Paul Fairclough, and more. And there will be all kinds of fun activities including balloon modelling, a magic show, and face painting, as well as food, drinks, and ice cream.”

pixbyjohn

20110701-DSC_6471 by pixbyjohn, on Flickr

pixbyjohn

20110701-DSC_6468 by pixbyjohn, on Flickr

pixbyjohn

20110701-DSC_6495 by pixbyjohn, on Flickr

The Durutti Column

vinpaul wrote: »

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Plan In Place To Open Greystones Harbour To The Public


Greystones Harbour is to be open to the public by early September.
Yesterday, Sispar, the developers behind the harbour development scheme told a meeting of town councillors that they intend to open temporary facilities by the end of August.
According to a statement released by Greystones Councillor Derek Mitchel, Sispar have agreed to take down most hoardings and replace them with decorative railings; Open the harbour beach and 2nd public slipway; Fence a large area for boat parking; Provide Car Parking and access to the new South Pier as well as moorings and Start building the Primary Health Centre which is to be completed within 12 months. It is also hoped to allow part of the public square to be finished. They will review demand for the marina and hope to put in temporary facilities at least during 2012. Further consultation is to take place with harbour users and residents next week.

According to GUBOH, it would appear Cllr Mitchell has it wrong in some respects:

• Most of the hoardings are to stay — about 70m from Cliff Road to the harbour entrance will go, but the rest will stay.
• The timing is uncertain — Sispar would not guarantee end of August for public access, and even said that their schedule for the railings had fallen behind.
• GUBOH stated that Sispar made it clear that completion of public access works would not occur until September.

You can listen to their spokesman here:
http://greystones.podomatic.com/entry/2011-06-29T04_43_22-07_00

Here's a comment from Basil Miller on the GUBOH Facebook page:

We have tried to paint that picture for Sispar both in meetings and in writing, and indeed to appeal to their undoubted desire not to alienate the community. We have done so in great detail, we have put a great deal of expertise into it, we have offered them every help.

We do take credit for what movement there has been in the past two months. Let's not forget that when Sispar came to the Town Council on 31 May the only proposal they had was to erect some railings for 60 metres or so, so that we could look at a building site rather than hoardings.

Now they have dropped the NAMA red herring and will finance Block D, the commercial/residential block, from other sources; they have agreed with the principle that the harbour should be opened as much as possible and the public amenity should be restored; and they have announced a conditional schedule for those steps.

These are great achievements for people power.

But, at the same time we have to call it as we see it. We started with two main objectives — to get the hoardings down and to get public amenity space within the south harbour area — and to do so in time for them to be in use this summer, which begins tomorrow.

The Sispar plan — crucially — does not deliver on the timing, even though we engaged in detailed discussions with them on how to sequence possible works such as Block D so that summer access could be provided.

Their plan is clear on that: railings in place and (some) hoardings down by mid-August, but no public access until September.

Second, if you look at the map you will see that virtually all of what could be public space in the area that Sispar has agreed to open has been allocated to a car park. No green area, no 'hanging out' area, no seating.

The car park could be located elsewhere. Our suggestion that a temporary car park be located on the site of the Block D car park was rejected — this would have allowed a far larger public amenity space, and it can still be done even if at a different spot.

We will go back to Sispar next week with further detailed proposals. We will ask our new Mayor, Tom Fortune, to press Sispar for a much improved offer, and we will ask all Town Councillors, County Councillors, and our local TDs to do the same.

We will also listen to any suggestions from anybody or any quarter on how the Sispar proposals can be improved on at reasonable cost, so bring them on, and we will work on them.

And Paul, we do take some pride in what we have achieved in such a short time — but we don't want the summer to pass by with the town's children still excluded from the harbour and its beach, so we are not folding our tent until we achieve that goal.

Their map of the Sispar plan, which is even more restrictive of public access than that of former mayor Ciarán Hayden:

SISPAR PLAN2.jpg

pixbyjohn

20110701-DSC_6472 by pixbyjohn, on Flickr

pixbyjohn

DSCF2138 by pixbyjohn, on Flickr

pljudge321

This one has a very, "Viva la Revolution", feel to it. Albeit with children and brightly coloured spades instead of AK-47's.

pixbyjohn wrote: »

pixbyjohn

DSCF0941 by pixbyjohn, on Flickr

pixbyjohn

Greystones Harbour Sea Scouts by pixbyjohn, on Flickr

pixbyjohn

Greystones Harbour Sea Scouts by pixbyjohn, on Flickr

pixbyjohn

Greystones Harbour Sea Scouts by pixbyjohn, on Flickr

pixbyjohn

Greystones Harbour Sea Scouts by pixbyjohn, on Flickr

vinpaul

Quite a number of fishermen on the south pier last evening. Can be seen in John's pictures. Is there some on the north pier as well. How do they access these "out of bounds" areas. Also noticed some gathering of about 10 or 12 teenagers on the south pier also.

Fiachra2

A different take on the harbour protest day from one local councillor.

Cllr Ciaran Hayden has suggested that Harbour Protest Group GUBOH should disband in light of local outrage at their ´celebration´day on the 3rd July being turned into a lark in the park style drinking binge party. Many local people were very upset that the bucket and spade party was moved from the beach to a local pub where alcohol was widely available and consumed openly in front of young children. Hundreds of children had shown up on the slip only to be directed, with their buckets and spades, to a local pub.

Cllr Hayden said after being contacted by several furious locals "this group needs to seriously look at what they are trying to achieve. For them it has become protest for the sake of protest. They advertised a bucket and spade celebration and then destroyed the children's day out by moving it without reason to a pub. I was at the harbour all day on that Sunday and there was no reason why the beach could not have been used by the children. It is my opinion that they used children to further their own protest. They now need to disband - they have little or no credibility left."

Langerland

Quite funny really. Does Mr Hayden see himself as a serious politician?

I was down there, I also saw a crepes and pancakes being openly sold and eaten in front it kids. I was appalled.

Mr Hayden, never go to Germany!

recedite

The area of beach beside the slip that was not fenced off, was about the size of my kitchen.

The Durutti Column

He himself is a total abstainer, of course. I often see him propping up the bar in the Beach House lashing through the pints of lemonade... Bladder like a horse, obviously.

The Durutti Column

vinpaul wrote: »

Quite a number of fishermen on the south pier last evening. Can be seen in John's pictures. Is there some on the north pier as well. How do they access these "out of bounds" areas. Also noticed some gathering of about 10 or 12 teenagers on the south pier also.

The Thursday after the terrific GUBOH party in the grounds of the Beach House, I saw a group of about ten young guys leaping from the south pier roundhead at low tide. Brave!

Fact is, the whole place is totally porous and completely insecurable. It's wide open. People go running along the north pier, go walkies in the building site, clamber across the rocks to left of the slip, and walk along the wall above them. Quite mad, and a huge safety risk which the developers seem to be ignoring even though they are totally aware of it.

Dunphus

Fiachra2 wrote: »

A different take on the harbour protest day from one local councillor.

Cllr Ciaran Hayden has suggested that Harbour Protest Group GUBOH should disband in light of local outrage at their ´celebration´day on the 3rd July being turned into a lark in the park style drinking binge party. Many local people were very upset that the bucket and spade party was moved from the beach to a local pub where alcohol was widely available and consumed openly in front of young children. Hundreds of children had shown up on the slip only to be directed, with their buckets and spades, to a local pub.

Cllr Hayden said after being contacted by several furious locals "this group needs to seriously look at what they are trying to achieve. For them it has become protest for the sake of protest. They advertised a bucket and spade celebration and then destroyed the children's day out by moving it without reason to a pub. I was at the harbour all day on that Sunday and there was no reason why the beach could not have been used by the children. It is my opinion that they used children to further their own protest. They now need to disband - they have little or no credibility left."

That's pretty infuriating. Do you have a source? That whole thing is so biased that I find it hard to believe this person has been elected to represent the people of Greystones.

LEIN

We are starting to slip into the counsellor bashing again.



Lets get back on track please.

LEIN

Fiachra2 wrote: »

A different take on the harbour protest day from one local councillor.

Cllr Ciaran Hayden has suggested that Harbour Protest Group GUBOH should disband in light of local outrage at their ´celebration´day on the 3rd July being turned into a lark in the park style drinking binge party. Many local people were very upset that the bucket and spade party was moved from the beach to a local pub where alcohol was widely available and consumed openly in front of young children. Hundreds of children had shown up on the slip only to be directed, with their buckets and spades, to a local pub.

Cllr Hayden said after being contacted by several furious locals "this group needs to seriously look at what they are trying to achieve. For them it has become protest for the sake of protest. They advertised a bucket and spade celebration and then destroyed the children's day out by moving it without reason to a pub. I was at the harbour all day on that Sunday and there was no reason why the beach could not have been used by the children. It is my opinion that they used children to further their own protest. They now need to disband - they have little or no credibility left."

I need you to give a source for this information or it will be removed.

Fiachra2

His facebook page.

I agree on the councillor bashing.

I posted it because it was a "view" on the harbour issue which people might be interested in. But I think it speaks for itself and requires no comment.

LEIN

Fiachra2 wrote: »

His facebook page.

I agree on the councillor bashing.

I posted it because it was a "view" on the harbour issue which people might be interested in. But I think it speaks for itself and requires no comment.

No bother, maybe just throw a link into you post to the quote.

The Durutti Column

Dunphus wrote: »

That's pretty infuriating. Do you have a source? That whole thing is so biased that I find it hard to believe this person has been elected to represent the people of Greystones.

Yeah, he put it on his Facebook page late last night, then later took it down... wonder why?