Plans and Particulars – New Council Chamber at County Hall, Dun Laoghaire

PC/02/13

In accordance with Part 8, Article 81 of the above Regulations, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council hereby gives notice of proposals pertaining to development as follows:

The construction of new chamber within the existing structure of County Hall by inserting a floor in the central Exhibition/Event space (Concourse) to create a chamber in the upper area of the space, under the existing roof.  Access will be by two walkway bridges, one from the upper floor of the Old Town Hall,[a Protected Structure] and the second from the helical staircase and public lift on the third floor level.  The exhibition/event space will be retained at ground floor level, a new soundproofed ceiling will be provided along with new electrical and mechanical services and new access doors and fenestration to retain daylight into this area.

In accordance with S.I. 476, 2011, Section 250, Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations, 2011 Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has determined that an Appropriate Assessment is not required.

Plans and particulars of the proposals are available for inspection from Wednesday 10th April 2013 up to and including Wednesday 22nd May 2013 at the Planning and Enterprise Department, County Hall, Marine Road, Dun Laoghaire between the hours of 10.00 a.m and 4:00 p.m. and at the Council Offices, Dundrum Office Park, Dundrum between the hours 9.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and 1.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. Monday to Friday, excluding Bank Holidays.

A copy of the proposed Part 8 may also be viewed on the County Council’s website at www.dlrcoco.ie

Plans and Particulars – New Council Chamber at County Hall, Dun Laoghaire

Submissions or observations with respect to the proposals, and dealing with the proper planning and development of the area, may be made in writing before 5:00 p.m. Wednesday 5th June 2013 to:

10^th April 2013.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS RE THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT

What has happened?

The Department of the Environment recently published Putting People First, the Government’s Action Programme for local government reform. This report states:

“6.4.10 Any proposals in relation to local authority membership in Dublin would

need to be carefully considered in the context of other significant issues relating to

local government structures and governance, particularly as reduction in the

population to member ratio could have significant implications for the size of councils

and associated efficiency and cost. However there is a good case for reducing the

degree of representational imbalance currently in the Dublin counties, particularly

Fingal, which has 24 seats and a member to population ratio of 1:11,416 and South

Dublin, which has 26 seats and a ratio of 1:10,200. The member to population ratio

in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, which currently has 28 seats, is less unfavourable at

1:7,366, but still relatively high compared with many other areas. A review of local

electoral areas and the number of members assigned to each of those areas will be

undertaken.”

It is expected that the recommendations outlined in ‘Putting People First’ will be included in legislation to be enacted in 2013. This will result in the number of Councillors in DLRCC increasing from 28 to 40 after the Local Elections are held in 2014.

Why is this an issue for DLRCC?

Our existing Council Chamber can not accommodate an additional twelve Councillors in it’s current format. It is also not possible to extend the existing Chamber due to a lack of available space, restricted access (including disabled access) and the fact that the Town Hall itself is a protected structure.

What is the Council proposing to do?

A number of possible locations for a new Chamber have been considered with the roof space of the Concourse deemed to be the most suitable.

While this option will involve some structural work it will:

• be more cost effective than other options
• allow us to retain the existing use of the concourse, assembly room and annex
• provide good accessibility
• safeguard the existing design of the concourse
• not affect the protected structure that is the town hall

Why is the Council proceeding with this plan if the relevant legislation has not enacted?

In order to have a new Chamber available to accommodate a new Council with 40 Councillors after the May 2014 local elections work would need to commence on site in Autumn 2013. However, works to construct any new Chamber, if approved through a Part 8 process, will not commence until legislation giving effect to any changes in the membership of the Council is enacted.

What is the expected cost of the proposed works?

It is estimated that the proposed new Chamber will cost in the region of €800,000.