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7th June 2016 • Volume 23, Issue 19 • Leader House, North Street, Swords, Co. Dublin. EirCode: K67 P5W4. • Tel: 01 8•400•200 • info@northcountyleader.ie • www.northcountyleader.ie
Malahide Forest Adventure Area Axed
A proposal to have a Forest Adventure Area developed on Malahide Castle Demesne has been rejected by local councillors by 5 votes to 3 in a recent area committee meeting. The proposed facility was to provide children and adults with an opportunity to climb into and move between the canopies of large mature trees in the woodland in a safe and enjoyable way. The facility was to be designed in a sustainable way to avoid damage to the woodland and will take advantage of existing
infrastructure in the park including changing rooms, paths and car parking areas. It was also proposed that a Multi-use Reinforced Grass Area adjacent to the existing Bridgefield Car Park on the North Eastern side of the Demesne be developed. This facility would have taken up approximately 5 hectares and would have been situated close to the main car park.
controversy amongst both local residents and public representatives. Speaking to the County Leader, local resident Noel Mahon, who formed a Facebook page to protest against this proposal, said; “As a local resident and a man who has grown up in Malahide I felt it would have been a shame to see the
Castle changed in this way.” He went on to claim; “I am not against maintenance and upgrading of the area but this proposal would have taken up 5 hectares of the Castle grounds and would inevitably be something that would need to be paid for. I started a facebook page to gather people together and let them
know what is happening. We had over 10,000 hits on the page. Most of the people I know from Malahide just didn’t want this.” The original proposal was put forward by the Parks Department of the County Council. According to the publicly available Council Document ‘Planning and
Development Acts, 2000 – 2015 Part 8 of the Planning and D e v e l o p m e n t Regulations 20012015: Proposed Forest Adventure Area and Multi-Use Reinforced Grassed Area In Malahide Demesne’, they were seeking “expressions of interest from suitably experienced operators to assist with the design, development and management of the facility.” This suggested that it would be developed by a private company. This sparked concern amongst locals and councillors that this would mean Contd. on Page 3
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By Aoife Read The proposed facility had been the source of much outrage and
Naul Rd., Swords T: 843 3118 W: www.roganstown.com
The Garda Band helped to raise funds for Howth RNLI and Malahide Lions Club charities at an event recently. Pictured at the event are, Donal O’Meara (President, Malahide Lions Club), Mary McNamara (Vice president, Malahide Lions), Christine Stanley (Malahide Lions), Jacinta Harley (Sub committee Chairperson, Malahide Lions), Rose Michael (Fundraising Chairperson, Howth RNLI), Inspector Pat Kenny (Garda Band), Paul Douglas and Richard Killen (both Malahide Lions). See our story on page 3
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