Proposals to build housing for older people given go-ahead despite protests
PROPOSALS to build homes for older people on two green spaces in a west Dublin estate have passed, despite protests from locals.
South Dublin County Council last night approved plans for the houses and apartments at Fernwood Park and Maplewood Road in Springfield, Tallaght.
Earlier, some 200 people gathered at the Springfield estate to march to the council’s offices to protest ahead of the vote.
They were calling for the proposal not to be given the go-ahead amid concerns over a shortage of green spaces for children in the area.
In total 53 units were proposed, though amendments accepted last night included reducing the number of units to 40.
“The children have no playground. There are no amenities for them. We need to keep the greens,” said Sharon Gibney, who was at the protest with her children Max (5) and Carly (9). “They play football. We go in the evenings after work as part of an outlet in the evenings and we bring them to the field and we play football and we play games with them.
“All the mothers together, if we lose it we’re losing a big part of the community and the kids are gutted,” she added.
“I’d say people are going to move out of Springfield to go to areas where there are green spaces,” said Sandra Dunne, who was with her son Adam at the protest.
“We want to show that we need to save these greens for the kids. They have very little green areas in Springfield.
“There’s no community centre, there’s no playground,” she said.