With so much happening in Kilternan and the surrounding area in the past few years, it’s become harder and harder to keep track of everything underway and planned for the future. A lot of the information is in hard-to-find, hard-to-read documents using technical jargon so I’ve tried to cut through it all and give you some clarity on what to expect in the community over the coming months and years. If you feel I’ve left out something, want to know more or have suggestions on how to improve the area, drop me an email anytime on ooconnor@cllr.dlrcoco.ie.
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has agreed a long-term plan for Kilternan and Glenamuck for how the area will develop for the years ahead. This is the Kilternan-Glenamuck Local Area Plan (LAP) 2025-2031. This was agreed with input from residents, businesses and community groups. All development now has to be consistent with the plan. But, we see too often that the housing gets built much at a much faster pace than everything else. I will be fighting on your behalf to get quicker delivery of much-needed community infrastructure.
One of the issues that was raised again and again was housing: how do we keep the community atmosphere in the area and build local facilities while also building houses for our children and new residents who want to live in the area?
First, how did we get here? An LAP was adopted for the area in 2007 but not progressed much given the economic conditions at the time. A new plan was passed in 2013. This LAP had rules around putting in place community facilities before a lot of housing goes in. But during this plan, the Strategic Housing Development (SHD) system was brought in by the 2016 government. It bypassed the rules in the Local Area Plan that required infrastructure and services before any major new residential developments were given permission.
An example of this is the new roads. The 2013 LAP required them to be built before any major residential developments happened on Glenamuck Road. Again, the council’s plan was bypassed thanks to the SHD system.
What’s the new plan?
When the 2025 LAP was being made, there was a push to solely prioritise housing and think about community facilities later. But that’s not how communities are built. Many of the submissions to the plan and many people I spoke to in the area pointed out that the construction of houses has been outpacing the provision of community facilities. Here’s some of the areas where I’ll be fighting for you:
- There’s land set aside for two schools on Glenamuck Road, at the corner with the new link road. More on schools here.
- I have been working with Wayside Celtic to make sure that future expansion is possible for them, which we secured in the plan. If and when we get the schools built, there will be playing pitches that can be used by local clubs outside of school hours.
- The Kilternan Village Centre development will include an anchor retail store, a retail/commercial unit, a restaurant, cafe, creche and community centre. More info on the Village Centre here.
- Already approved park: Glenamuck Park was approved by councillors in 2021. It will start construction and landscaping once the new road project is finished.
- Development and expansion of a new park: Kilternan Park east of the Link Road. The plans for this will include consultation just like all our new play facilities under the council’s Play Policy.
Proposed urban design and parks for the area
What’s the housing target?
Due to Government and Council housing targets, the area is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. As of late 2024, there were 1,484 units in Kilternan-Glenamuck. Density guidelines have been changed since the previous aim of having a total of around 2,000 residential units was set, so the updated target aim is to have around 2,500 houses and apartments. This may increase further, as the Government has forced us to change our plan to zone more lands, without us being able to make more provision for community facilities.
One of the conditions in the plan is that all new residential developments of 10 units or more are required to set aside a minimum of 25% of units to be designed to facilitate an ageing population and/or people with a disability. These will ideally be located at ground floor level with own-door access, and contain a minimum of two bedrooms. This is to ensure that families who have grown up in Kilternan-Glenamuck can find suitable accommodation and remain part of their community as their needs change.
If you have any questions or comments, let me know at ooconnor@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
