I received an update in the past week from the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown (DLR) team working on the Hillcrest Road Upgrade project. The purpose of the Hillcrest Road Upgrade project is to make the road safer and more accessible for all road users.
Background to the Hillcrest Road Upgrade
The Hillcrest Road Improvement Scheme was first added to the County Development Plan back in 2010 and included in the next two plans in 2016 and 2022. In October 2022, the DLR Infrastructure team hired O’Connor Sutton Cronin (OCSS) as the consulting engineers to progress the Hillcrest Road Improvement Scheme. Since then they’ve been carrying out technical and environmental surveys and engaging with property owners on Hillcrest Road.
In March 2024, I requested an update from the project team, for all 7 local councillors for the area. We had this meeting in late March 2024 where the outline of the project was presented to us by engineers from the council and OCSS. I asked that there be really good communication and traffic management plans during the works themselves. The project team committed to doing so, and to learn from what happened with previous road projects in the area.
On 4th September 2024 there was a meeting between residents of Hillcrest Road, the engineers from DLR and OCSS and local councillors. This is the presentation we received on the night.
December 2024 – Latest update
Below is the update I received from the project team last week:
The Options Report and the Preliminary Design for the scheme are now completed. The Consultant is finalising the Environmental Reports. The consultant is preparing utility drawings with input from the relevant utility providers.
The majority of the property boundary lines based on the preliminary design for the Hillcrest Road Improvement Scheme has been marked out on the ground. DLRCC plan to go to Part 8 in Q1/2025.
The reason for any delay is that there were additional surveys required to close out the Environmental reports. It is still intended to meet all individual property owners in advance of issuing the Part 8.
“Part 8” is a planning application that council officials submit. The officials put the plans out for a period of public consultation. The planning permission can then be granted by a vote of the councillors. We can amend, reject or approve any Part 8 application.
By the update above, this means that the official plans and drawings should be released for public consultation sometime before March 2025. I’ll post details of this and any other updates on the project as I get them.
You can also get in touch with me by email at any stage if you have any questions about the Hillcrest Road Upgrade project or anything else happening locally.
