Crodaun SHDs

• An Bord Pleanala Case Page for ABP-307100-20
• Deadline for submissions: 29/06/2020
• Application details: https://crodaunshd.ie
• Number of dwellings: 467 - 18 x 1 bedroomed, 210 x 2 bedroomed, 127 x 3 bedroomed, 92 x 4 bedroomed, 20 x 5 bedroomed
• Proposed childcare provision:  89
• Estimates
  • Population: 1,284 (based on national average of 2.75 persons per dwelling unit)
  • Demand for primary school places: 154 (Department of Education guideline of 12% of population)
  • Estimate of demand for post-primary school places: 109 (Department of Education guideline of 8.5% of population)
  • Estimate of demand for Baby/Toddler Childcare: 
  • Estimate of demand for Preschool places:
  • Estimate of demand for Afterschool childcare:

ABP-307100 aerial view

Traffic congestion is a serious issue for many in Celbridge - for drivers, bus users, cyclists and pedestrians alike. It affects all our lives and everyone has a story worth telling in a submission to An Bord Pleanala. 

The distance from the proposed developments at Crodaun to most of the places that residents need to access can pose significant challenges due to traffic congestion.  Very few are within walking or cycling distance, especially when travelling with young children on roads that lack walking and cycling infrastructure.

Describe your morning commute, creche/ preschool/ school drop-offs and pick-ups, afternoon/ evening commutes, your journeys to partake in sports and activities, etc. Describe any delays you encounter, explain why you or your children cannot use the bus, walk or cycle, etc. Explain your reality of moving around Celbridge before COVID-19.

There is no traffic and transport strategy for Celbridge. 

The following were objectives of the Celbridge LAP 2017-2023

Support new residential developments in Key Development Areas (KDAs) in tandem with the delivery of supporting physical and social infrastructure. (Objective CSO1.2)

To seek to prepare, within 12 months of the date of the adoption of the Celbridge Local Area Plan, a Transport Management Plan and Public Transport Strategy for Celbridge to support the sustainable growth and development of the town. (Objective MTO3.1)

To explore by way of Feasibility Study the potential to construct a Western Link Road that will link Maynooth Road R405 with the Clane Road R403. (Objective MTO3.11)

The Transport Management Plan and Public Transport Strategy is overdue since Autumn 2018 and the Western Link Road is jeopardised by the proposed development.  Lack of a transport plan with key timelines for the provision of key infrastructure and public transport improvements impacts on the sustainable growth and development of Celbridge. The scale of the proposed development is too large to be delivered without key transport infrastructure and a joined-up strategy.

The current bus services from the Crodaun area of town suffer from traffic congestion, unreliability and lack of capacity.

There is no timeframe for the delivery of the proposed new 259 (Hazelhatch-Leixlip Confey via Clane Road, Aghard's Road and Green Lane) and W8 (Maynooth-Tallaght via Celbridge, Newcastle, Citywest) bus routes under the BusConnects Network Redesign. It is unclear if these routes will ever be delivered.

The applicant misleadingly claims that the location is on a high quality public transport corridor . We contest this claim because

• The site is 4.1km from Leixlip Louisa Bridge train station but
  • this is well outside walking distance for residents of Crodaun
  • there is no shuttle bus connection 
  • the car park at the station is quite small so is full very early in the morning making it unusable by commuters who cannot leave for work before 07:00

• The site is 4.6km from Hazelhatch train station but
  • this is well outside walking distance for residents of Crodaun
  • the shuttle bus service to Hazelhatch only serves some of the trains
    • 6 shuttle bus services take passengers from Celbridge to the train station on weekdays - these feed 40% of the weekday trains leaving Hazelhatch for Dublin
    • 9 shuttle bus services collect passengers from the train station on weekdays - these meet 34% of the weekday trains arriving at Hazelhatch from Dublin
    • No shuttle bus service runs at the weekend
    • the shuttle bus service to Hazelhatch only serves some of the trains
    • Note: The applicant’s Statement of Consistency & Planning Report misleadingly states that the shuttle bus service provides transportation to Hazelhatch Train Station starting with the 7.10am train and continuing through to the 19.05pm train with services running throughout the day.
  • the shuttle bus gets caught up in severe traffic congestion
  • drivers trying to get to the park and ride get caught up in severe traffic congestion
  • bicycles left at the train station regularly get stolen

• While the 67 and 67X bus services pass the subject site,
  • the journey times can be in excess of 75 minutes due to traffic congestion
  • Capacity on buses is a significant problem especially in the evenings when buses fill up with passengers for destinations between Dublin and Celbridge meaning that Celbridge-bound passengers are refused boarding.
  • Despite what the applicant’s Statement of Consistency & Planning Report states, with a 30 minute frequency the 67 is not a high frequency bus service (the NTA defines high frequency services as services which operate at a frequency of 15 minutes or greater on a weekday, outside the peak periods).

The applicant claims that the development is well connected and cycle-friendly, particularly in relation to the Maynooth Road. The following is representative of the limited space that is available for both cyclists and pedestrians alongside the proposed development on the Maynooth Road. This is the best section as a segregated bike path exists here but the carriageway reduces in size and a painted bike lane merges with and shares road space once a cyclist enters the built-up area of Celbridge.

Within the built-up area of Celbridge, cycle facilities are of low quality that do not feel safe and therefore discourage residents, especially children from cycling. Routes to all schools south of the proposed development have only partial cycling infrastructure and the safety risks for young children on congested roads is high. Those children who cycle, do so on footpaths for safety reasons and many continue to do this as they get older for trips to secondary school. This is not ideal given how narrow most footpaths are.

The proposed development is located beyond a reasonable walking distance from the centre of Celbridge and from primary schools other than Scoil Mochua so, given the deficits in cycling infrastructure most trips from this location will happen by  car.

We recently ran a survey which included a section on Social/ Community Infrastructure (this covers a diverse range of services and facilities including, but not limited to, educational facilities, childcare facilities, emergency service facilities, healthcare facilities, sports pitches and club facilities, community spaces, libraries, arts and culture facilities, banks, retail facilities, recreational spaces such as parks and playgrounds/ skate parks, etc.) The responses demonstrate what many of us already know - i.e. that

• residents clearly recognise the issues pertaining to the fact that there is no infrastructure for bus priotitisation
• residents overwhelmingly recognise the lack of an outdoor space for our young people (outside of sporting clubs, etc.)
• residents feel that the existing playgrounds for children are not adequate - unless you live within walking distance of Willowbrook Park, there is no other option as Celbridge Abbey is never open when you need it yet it is counted as a Kildare County Council playground!
• walking and cycling infrastructure is widely regarded as poor
• residents feel that our town could do a lot better on community spaces, performing arts spaces and arts and culture generally
• we have some good sports grounds / pitches but many amongst our community feel that they are not accessible enough
• the grounds of Castletown House are recongised as a great amenity for large numbers in our community but it really isn't accessible enough for many amongst us

• GPs are very hard to source
• Family, Youth & Community Support has either been a problem or the survey participant believes it to be from what they hear in the community
• Places in sporting and non-sporting clubs and activities can be difficult to source
• Sourcing childcare has been a problem at all stages or the survey participant believes it to be from what they hear in the community
• Primary school places within walking distance has been an issue for many - we know that there is some capacity in the town but it is so far away from where children live that it encourages car usage to get there
• Secondary school places have also been an issue for many - the biggest issues now may relate to overcrowding in CCS and the fact that post-primary students from south of the river have to travel so far to get to school

It is worth telling your story about how you have experienced and/ or continue to experience issues accessing services and facilities in Celbridge.

Schools

The applicant's School Demand Statement states that “Celbridge is well served in terms of established education facilities with 8 no. primary schools (including special needs) and 3 post primary schools.” and that, “it is submitted that the existing school infrastructure in the town is sufficient to cater for the proposed development.” The 8 schools include St. Raphael's and The Glebe Montessori! We recently performed an audit of schools' capacity and enrolment numbers and found that

• While there is some capacity in primary schools in the town, especially in Scoil na Mainistreach and Scoil Naomh Brid, the closest primary school to the proposed development at Crodaun (Scoil Mochua) is operating at capacity
• Scoil na Mainistreach and Scoil Naomh Brid are not within reasonable walking distance of the proposed development at Crodaun so will result in unsustainable transport movements from the north of the town to the village and across the Shackleton Road.
• The Oldtown Woods development on the Shackleton Road is expected to require approximately 83 primary school places for its population and this will utilise a significant amount of  Scoil na Mainistreach's capacity
• The Castlewellan Park development beside Aldi is expected to require approximately 26 primary school places for its population
• Celbridge Community School will operate at full capacity from 2020-21 on completion of the extension to the temporary school
• The other two post-primary schools (Salesian College and St Wolstan's Community School) are operating at close to capacity
• The combination of Castlewellan Park, Oldtown Woods and the the two proposed developments at Crodaun will require an additional 273 post-primary school places (109 of these would be required for the latest proposed housing development at Crodaun) - the only way these will be accommodated is by reducing the numbers who avail of post-primary school places from outside Celbridge but that would require school building initiatives in neighbouring towns

Childcare

• With the closure of four preschool facilities in Celbridge since June 2019 (one of these also provided Afterschool care), we estimate that there will be a shortfall of at least 60 ECCE preschool places in Celbridge for 2020-2021
• We believe that the shortfall of Afterschool care places may be as high as 100-120
• The shortfall in places for babies, wobblers and toddlers is difficult to gauge but the creche with the highest capacity for babies is not taking babies until summer 2021

Flood Risk

A landraise on low ground on lands behind the proposed site for development (where the Griffinrath, Kilwogan and Ballygoran townlands meet) has turned into a flood plain. The combination of low permeability soils and the shallow gradient of the land have resulted in waterlogged ground and the creation of a wetland. 60 acres of agricultural lands have been lost stretching beyond the lands in the possession of the landowner responsible for the landrasie. It is advised that if the landraise issue is not addressed, the flood plain will extend into the proposed site and beyond.

Drainage from the proposed development will be into the Kilwhogan Stream and will flow to just north of the landraise. The applicant did not consider flooding impact on these wetlands their application.