Great news for residents of Belmont estate and the wider Aiken’s Village and Belarmine area: the reservoir site in the centre of the state will finally be finished and landscaped by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in 2026. This is according to the latest response I’ve received from the council on this long running saga and further enquiries I’ve made with council officials.
Discussions between the council and the contractor are ongoing, and a contract is expected to be signed any day now, and a work plan agreed. I’ve been told verbally that the work will be done in 2026. These are the most recently agreed plans, that will give a sense of what works will be done through the site.
A huge thanks must go to the residents of Belmont including the active Belmont Residents Association for their patience and perseverance on this issue over many years. It must be a relief that’s finally almost over.
I’ll do my best to ensure the council keep the focus on finishing the Belmont reservoir green space in 2026.
I brought a motion to the council in January 2025, to keep it high on the agenda and to make it transparent what issues were happening with the developer and the council. Watch here:
Further background
This site was a council-owned covered reservoir when the Belmont housing estate was built. A 10 year planning permission had been granted back in 2011 on the basis that the developer would make a contribution to local outdoor green space by landscaping the surface above the reservoir including any necessary infrastructure to keep any reservoir-related equipment safe from any risk or damage.
Unfortunately over the years, the developer failed to finish this work, despite making progress in fits and spurts. It’s always the council’s last resort to step in and do work a developer is supposed to do. Even if compensation can be sought, that’s a lengthy legal process in itself.
Since becoming a councillor in December 2020, I have been pursuing this issue and keeping it high on the agenda for council management. If you are a resident in the estate, you would have received many letters as updates on the issue from me over the years.
If you live in an estate that’s still yet to be taken in charge by the council, or there are any unresolved issues with the developer, please feel free to reach out to me on ooconnor@cllr.dlrcoco.ie with the details and I’d be happy to help as much as I can.
