January’s meeting of Greystones Town Council ended without any advancement of the Community Plan that would see the entire harbour area landscaped and redeveloped.
“Once again, thanks to the actions of a few councillors, we missed an opportunity to advance the Community Plan for restoring the harbour area,” Councillor Tom Fortune said.
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The developers Sisk had been invited to attend the January meeting but had refused.
“I proposed that they [Sisk] be written to again and invited to the February meeting,” Fortune said. “It was my intention that the invitation would stress that as the project was a public private partnership they had an obligation to consult with the public and their representatives.”
The motion was however voted down by councillors opposed to the Community Plan.
Greystones Harbour has been in a derelict state ever since the the economic crash when plans for the development of 370 apartments, a medical centre and park lands, fell through.
At present Sisk are offering to grass a small area of 3,500 square metres between the Harbour Café (Sweeney’s) and a line running from the Beach Road to the inner breakwater.
The Greystones Harbour Community Plan, which is the work of local residents groups and other stakeholders, would involve landscaping the entire site, including the area of the proposed public park, providing amenities such as a picnic area and seating, and removal of all fences in the area.
It was estimated that this plan would cost around €300,000 to implement. The plan can be viewed here.
Cllr Fortune said that he was very conscious that the majority of Greystones residents want to see the harbour area landscaped before another summer comes and goes.
He said that he was also conscious that after three years of being misled about the Primary Care Centre the people of Greystones do not believe Sisk’s statements about commencing construction of housing “later in the year”.
“It is very disappointing that the community’s wishes have been rejected in this way by Greystones Town Council.”
