The Liffey Valley Park Alliance (LVPA) welcomes the opportunity to make this submission on Proposed Variation No. 2 to the South Dublin County Development Plan 2022-2028. This submission supports Material Alteration MA6.1, which proposes the omission of Amendment No. 6 relating to St Edmundsbury and the retention of the existing High Amenity Area designation.

For decades, the LVPA has advocated for the protection, restoration and enhancement of the River Liffey corridor as a regional greenway, heritage landscape, ecological resource and interconnected public park network. The St Edmundsbury lands form an important part of this wider landscape, contributing to biodiversity conservation, floodplain protection and landscape connectivity. Successive development proposals have highlighted the vulnerability of these lands, and the LVPA has consistently worked to safeguard their environmental, recreational and heritage value for future generations.

The long-standing public debate regarding the future of St Edmundsbury and the Liffey Valley corridor is well documented in national and local media coverage.

This submission examines the environmental, biodiversity, landscape and community wellbeing importance of the St Edmundsbury lands and the wider River Liffey corridor. Drawing on relevant planning policy, biodiversity strategies and green infrastructure frameworks, it demonstrates how retaining the High Amenity designation supports sustainable planning, ecological resilience and community wellbeing.