Save St. Edmundsbury

I strongly object to any residential rezoning of the lands at St. Edmundsbury, Lucan, and fully support the proposed omission/reversal of residential rezoning proposals for these lands (as reflected in Amendment Ref. No. 6 / MA6.1).

The lands at St. Edmundsbury must be preserved under their High Amenity (HA) zoning objective to safeguard the Liffey Valley environment, biodiversity, architectural heritage, and public open space network in Lucan.

St. Edmundsbury forms an integral component of the Liffey Valley Strategic Amenity Area (SAMP/SAAO corridor). It acts as an indispensable green lung and natural landscape buffer between built-up residential developments in Lucan and the River Liffey ecosystem. The high visual amenity and mature tree canopies of St. Edmundsbury contribute directly to the historic landscape character of Lucan Village and the Liffey Valley. Residential development would cause irreversible landscape degradation and permanent loss of green belt continuity. The grounds contain rich biodiversity, mature woodland, and established wildlife habitats that support protected species along the River Liffey corridor. The lands play an active role in natural flood risk management within the Liffey catchment. Introducing hard surfaces and dense urban structures would heighten downstream flood risks in Lucan Village and surrounding areas. St. Edmundsbury House and its surrounding historic demesne grounds represent a sensitive cultural and architectural asset in South Dublin. Encroaching residential development would severely compromise the historic setting and context of this heritage asset, conflicting with heritage protection policies within the South Dublin County Development Plan 2022–2028. The existing road network in Lucan, specifically the N4 corridors, Lucan Village roads, and Newcastle Road are already operating beyond peak capacity. Adding further residential units at St. Edmundsbury without dedicated local road upgrades will exacerbate gridlock.

Lucan is currently absorbing thousands of new housing units via the ongoing build-outs of the Adamstown and Clonburris Strategic Development Zones (SDZs). Further residential zoning in sensitive peripheral greenfield sites like St. Edmundsbury is premature and unsustainable until existing SDZs and urban capacity are fully supported by public transport (e.g., Lucan Luas, DART+ South West) and essential social infrastructure. Local schools, healthcare services, primary care facilities, and community amenities in Lucan are already heavily oversubscribed.

The lands at St. Edmundsbury are fundamentally unsuitable for residential development. Re-zoning these lands for housing would undermine the statutory goals of sustainable compact growth, biodiversity protection, and heritage conservation.