Battle Over the Ghost Harbour

Page 1

Page 26

Irish Daily Mail, Thursday, May 26, 2011

by Jenny Friel

T

HE SMALL group of French tourists were clearly bewildered and a little disappointed. +DYLQJ MXVW ILQLVKHG WKH two-hour hike from Bray Head in north Wicklow to *UH\VWRQHV D EUDFLQJ NP FOLII top walk with spectacular views over the Irish Sea, they had hoped to find a cafĂŠ or bar where they could rest after their exertions.

Hoarding horror: One of the unsightly barriers

6RPHZKHUH WKH\ FRXOG HQMR\ D ZHOO earned coffee or maybe indulge in a midafternoon glass of wine while looking out over the bay. But rather than a picturesque scene of an Irish pier with boats bobbing in the

% # # !# "# ! " "

#! " " # " ! & &

O 9'6'38++* 3'8/43'1 3+;75'5+6 '3* 8+1+:/7/43 +<54796+ O ".4;)'7+ =496 46/-/3'1 ;460 84 ' 3'8/43;/*+ '9*/+3)+ O "+3* 43+ 4, =496 (+78 86')07 :/' +2'/1 84 ,/-.8/3-).'3)+ *'/1=2'/1 /+

#

! ! )!&# $% !# # !# $ ' !# !# % %! % ) $ & #!& % $ ! )!&# % & % %# ! "!$ # % $ %# %$ &$% ) #$ !# !' # & $% ! # $ ! % ! $ # ' ! % ((( )

46 246+ /3,4 893+ /384

$/7/8 97 '8 ;;; ,')+(440 )42 5'-+7 /-.8/3- .'3)+

harbour and some fishermen patiently waiting for their lines to bite, they were JUHHWHG E\ D OHQJWK\ EDQN RI PHWUHV high, white-coloured hoarding, completely obliterating the view of the sea beyond. The weary visitors stood for several minutes, chatting quietly amongst themselves and looking around for some reason to stay. Shrugging their shoulders, it was decided that they should move on. ‘It is a shame,’ one of them told the Mail. ‘The walk over here was so beautiful, but ZKHQ \RX JHW KHUH LW ORRNV DV LI LW LV MXVW D big construction site. ‘You can see from above that the harbour looks finished, they should open it up and let people see the sea again. It must have been a very pretty place once.’ Indeed, Greystones harbour and beach was, in its time, a very beautiful place, overlooked by a terrace of grand Victorian houses, attracting regular holidaymakers such as literary legends Samuel Beckett and JM Synge. These days, walking up along Trafalgar Road into the main part of the town you can see — despite the eyesore that is the derelict La Touche Hotel — that it is still a very pretty and clearly affluent spot. There are few outward signs of the current recession, no boarded up shop-fronts or banners advertising closing down sales, which are prevalent in most other small towns around the country. On the narrow main street, Church Road, luxury SUVs carefully pass each other, while yummy mummies with top-of-the-range buggies and Cath Kidston nappy bags stop to chat and JUDE IDQF\ Ä„ FRIIHHV IURP WKH QXPHUous cafĂŠs that dot the road. The up-market clothing boutiques appear to be doing a steady trade — in fact, this week, one such shop was getting a fresh coat of paint for the summer trade. It is a town of more than 17,000 people and yet has a distinctly villagey feel. To an outsider it seems like a friendly place, with an altogether slower pace of life — a clean, well-kept safe haven with plenty of amenities for families lucky enough to live there. Back down at the almost deserted

‘More than 6,000 people signed the protest petition’ harbour, however, it feels like there is a very different atmosphere. In recent decades there has been little investment or attention put into the area. The 120-year-old pier had begun to crumble into the sea — on a rough day with high waves it disappeared altogether. It was universally agreed something had to be done. The solution, however, proved to be a bitterly divisive one. Plans for a Ą PLOOLRQ UHGHYHORSPHQW SURMHFW SXW forward by a Public Private Partnership deal between development firm Sispar and Wicklow County Council were vehemently opposed by a large number of the town’s inhabitants. More than 6,000 people signed petitions opposing the ambitious proposal that would transform the area from a sleepy — albeit run-down — harbour, into a glossy, commercial hub. It was an ugly row that at times boiled over and turned nasty, with both sides accusing the other of bending the truth and not listening to reason. For some lifelong residents it offered the chance to have a pop at the ‘blow-ins’, while other locals accused neighbours of being snobs who were scared of their property being devalued. In the end, after some changes to the initial SODQV WKH SURMHFW ZDV given the go -ahead and in the autumn of 2007 the harbour was closed off and the

Determined: Basil Miller will fight on

A bit the g

With its 120-yearharbour in Greyst But an ambitious sea of bitter recrim story of Celtic Tig want their town b construction works began four months later. Fast forward almost three-anda-half years and the actual harbour is finally complete. A huge swathe of land has been reclaimed from the sea and two new piers now face each other. It is unclear, however, when, or if, work on the QH[W SKDVH RI WKH SURMHFW ZLOO EHJLQ Last October, Sispar — a consortium of engineering company John Sisk and property developer Park Developments — was put into the control of Nama. As Sispar pointed out, Nama is legally obliged to take in all development ORDQV RI PRUH WKDQ Ą PLOlion, regardless of whether or not they are performing. They then have to individually assess each case and decide if funding will be granted to

FRPS work area Wh doub YLDEL comp engin JURXS the y Par HG D O same Ow Cotte RSP comp — wh expo into N For plans swee — d saga.

Irish Daily Mail, Thursday, May 26, 2011

Page 47

tter battle over ghost harbour

depends on an uplift in the housing market. But there’s little chance of that happening for a number of years. ‘We sympathise with Sispar’s financial difficulties but it’s not acceptable for a developer to seal off a harbour and part of the coastline from the public for an indefinite period of time.’ The group has erected several banners around the town bearing the slogan ‘Give us back our harbour’. They want the removal of the hoardings and unsightly barriers they claim have cost local businesses dearly. ‘People come around Bray Head and they keep going,’ says Billy Byrne, a member of the Byrne family which runs The Beach House. ‘Once they see the hoardings they walk on, there’s nothing to see or do here, Where once there was swimming, sailing, rowing and fishing, it’s all gone. Âś2Q D SHUVRQDO OHYHO WKLV LV ZKHUH , was brought up, that’s what is really hurting. All the vibrancy and life has JRQH RXW RI WKH KDUERXU , KDYH \RXQJ children of my own now and there’s QRZKHUH IRU WKHP WR SOD\ KHUH ,W KDV deeply affected my family.’ His brother John Byrne explains how WKH\ VSHQW PRUH WKDQ Ä„ RQ refurbishing their harbour bar just a couple of years ago — money they have had no chance to recoup. ‘People have written us off,’ he says. ‘Why would they come down and stare at the hoardings? We knew the marina was coming and we were positive and embraced it and upgraded. We just want access to our harbour while things are in limbo. ‘Considering what’s already been VSHQW Âł FORVH WR Ä„ PLOOLRQ Âł ZH¡UH really not asking too much. To grass

‘The least they can do is give us back the harbour’

-old pier crumbling, the tones badly needed a revamp. s ₏300m project stalled in a mination. It’s a chastening ger folly, but now the locals back – and they have an idea...

plete each project. Meanwhile, k on the site has stopped and the is cordoned off. hile it is Sispar that is in Nama, bts have been raised about the ility of the project ever being pleted. Last available figures for neers John Sisk show they made a S SURILW DIWHU WD[ RI Ä„ PLOOLRQ LQ year ended December 2009. rk Developments, however, recordORVV RI PRUH WKDQ Ä„ LQ WKH e year. wned by Galwayman Michael er, who has several massive develPHQWV DORQJ 'XEOLQ¡V 0 WKH pany was one of the second tranche hich absorb the smaller value loan osures — of businesses that went Nama. r those who opposed the harbour s it would seem to be a bitteret — with the emphasis on bitter development in the on-going . Some will tell you that the idea

Haven hangover: The once beautiful Greystones coast, inset, has been left like a building site

RI EXLOGLQJ QHZ KRXVHV DQG DSDUWPHQWV D EHUWK PDULQD PRUH WKDQ VTXDUH PHWUHV RI FRPPHUcial space and the largest public VTXDUH LQ ,UHODQG ZDV DOZD\V D ludicrous suggestion. Âś,W¡V MXVW D VWXQQLQJ H[DPSOH RI WKH Celtic Tiger demise,’ said Gillian Demery, who has lived with her KXVEDQG IRU WKH ODVW \HDUV LQ KLV family home at the harbour. ‘They spent two years insisting we would get a state-of-the-art harbour with facilities second to none, that all would enjoy. ‘We attended two oral hearings and JDWKHUHG RYHU VLJQDWXUHV DJDLQVW this massive development and its enormous footprint. ‘When An Bord PleanĂĄla granted planning we were devastated but we knew we had no choice and decided to get on with it, hoping that in four or five years it all would be complete. We lived in the middle of a building site —

with all the noise and inconvenience — and we watched as the beach we loved disappeared. ‘Now we find ourselves living in the middle of a ghost harbour. They [Sispar] say that they are waiting for a decision by Nama about whether or not they can continue, but that doesn’t look likely now, does it?’ ,Q WKH PHDQWLPH WKH EDQN RI KRDUGLQJV Âł DOPRVW PHWUHV LQ length — obstruct the view of the sea and prevent anyone gaining access to the new piers. Generic photographs of attractive models enjoying themselves look down IURP VRPH RI WKH PHWUH KLJK EDUULers, while others boast what can be expected when the works are completed — restaurants, shops, a PDULQD WRZQ VTXDUH DQG ERDUGZDON ,W LV WKHVH KRDUGLQJV WKDW KDYH PRVW recently galvanised the community, and could very possibly help them to bridge the deep divide caused by the

troubled development. ‘Look, the harbour is built and the issues that divided the town before are no longer relevant,’ explained the spokesman of the Give Us Back Our Harbour (GUBOH) group, Basil Miller. ‘We are united in one demand: we want our harbour and seashore back.’ GUBOH has been meeting for several weeks in a small room upstairs at The Beach House pub. People who campaigned for and those who protested against the development plan are now working together to demand that at least some of the hoardings are taken down and part of the area is made safe. They want access to the site in time for the summer. ‘We know that the hoardings were necessary,’ Basil says. ‘But they’ve been XS IRU PRQWKV QRZ ZKLFK LV D ORW longer than we were led to believe. Work stopped on the site about six months ago. From what we’ve been told, the completion of the project

out the existing area, put in the minimum amount of public lighting — it’s very achievable and we’re appealing to Sisk’s good nature. ‘Nobody is trying to raise the old arguments, the pro- and anti-harbour stuff. We have what we have and we’re hoping if we maintain a reasonable approach, they’ll do the right thing.’ Some residents are dubious. Pippins Parkinson runs a B&B overlooking the harbour and has seen her business GLPLQLVK E\ XS WR SHU FHQW VLQFH WKH work started. Âś, IHHO 6LVSDU GLGQ¡W OLVWHQ WR XV before,’ the 70-year-old explains. ‘While they were working here our lives were hell — lorries waiting to get on site early in the morning and working late. The very least they can do now is give us back the harbour, what’s done is done.’ The Mail got no response to TXHVWLRQV ZKHQ ZH FRQWDFWHG WKH ILUP this week but Greystones Mayor, councillor CiarĂĄn Hayden — who was a strong supporter of the redevelopment — is adamant that the hoardings will come down. However, he was unable to estimate when exactly that might be. ‘We are waiting to hear what Nama has decided and unfortunately you don’t have any influence over Nama,’ he says. ‘But Sispar has indicated that the hoardings will come down. ‘People need to recognise that Nama is calling the shots. Of course it is better for the community if it is opened up, but we need to be realistic about the financing. There’s a perception out there that Sispar has walked away but WKDW¡V TXLWH WR WKH FRQWUDU\ ¡ Gillian Demery is not so sure. ‘Just a month or so ago a huge job was done on re-enforcing the hoardings,’ she VD\V Âś, GRQ¡W VHH WKHP FRPLQJ GRZQ any time soon. ‘For me the damage is done, the life ZH KDG KHUH LV JRQH $QG , NQRZ ZH can’t live in the past, we have to move RQ EXW HYHQ QRZ , GRQ¡W VHH ZKDW NLQG of solution there can be. Âś7KLV LV P\ KRPH WKH SODFH , KDYH WR OLYH LQ HYHQ WKRXJK , FDQ¡W VWDQG LW ,Q DQ LGHDO ZRUOG VRPHRQH ZRXOG FRPH and make an offer on the place and we’d jump at it. But how will that ever happen now?’ , W V H H P V W K D W V R P H V F D U V L Q Greystones will take longer to concrete over than others.

Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.