Have your say on plans to enhance the village.

Saturday 13th June 2026, Sandymount Village Green This event is being organised by Joseph Lynch, under the auspice of SAMRA (Sandymount and Merrion Residents Association) & in association with Dublin City Council & Sandymount Tidy Towns CoMMunity Association

VILLAGE IDEAS TIMELINE TO DATE The following is a brief summary of the Village Ideas from their inception to the present time. SAMRA is very grateful to the Dublin Waste to Energy Community Gain Liaison Committee for their very generous grants to fund the creation of the Village Ideas and the Community Engagement Programme. We wish to thank Grafton Architects for the commitment, enthusiasm, expertise and professionalism of their team over the course of the project. The consultations with Dublin City Council, from their Chief Executive, Richard Shakespeare and his senior officials have been enormously positive and we look forward to delivery on the projects over the coming years. CREATION OF THE VILLAGE IDEAS. In 2022 , during the trialling of the summer weekend pedestrianisation of the north-east side of the Green, SAMRA began to consider the issue of looking at the possibilities to improve the public realm of the village and its environs as a whole, including its links to Dublin Bay. The essence of our thoughts was to unlock the village’s enormous potential and further develop its relationship with the Bay. The context for this included the Sandymount Village Design Statement published in 2011, the 2015 designation of Dublin Bay as a UNESCO Biosphere and the Dublin City Development Plan 2022-2028. In the Plan, Sandymount is listed for the preparation of a Local Environmental Improvement Plan. The Plan also lists Sandymount as a 'Key Urban Neighbourhood' with policies to improve these villages for the wellbeing of their communities. We considered a very open brief for improvement of the area, and then requested the world renowned Dublin firm, Grafton Architects, to provide us with a proposal for a project to develop various ideas. Armed with their very enthusiastic response , in April 2023 , SAMRA applied to the Dublin Waste to Energy Community Gain Liaison Committee for a grant to fund the Architect's work and later that year, the Committee provided that grant. Over 9 months in 2024 , in liaison with a SAMRA Subcommittee that included a representative of STTCA, Grafton Architects created the ideas. The Grafton Architects Sandymount Village Ideas Presentation of Aug 2024 wonderfully illustrates an integrated holistic plan of ideas for a series of 12 projects to improve the public realm under the key initiatives. In addition, they developed ideas for a number of small moves that would significantly enhance the village including improved signage, additional seating, planting, and interpretive story boards A number of the main project ideas were subsequently developed as priorities for early delivery. CONSULTATIONS WITH DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL SAMRA decided to approach the key stakeholder, Dublin City Council, to gauge their response to the ideas. We believed that there was little point in bringing the ideas to the community if DCC were not willing to even consider them. At the initiative of the then Dublin Lord Mayor, James Geoghegan, SAMRA and Grafton Architects met DCC key executives in November 2024 , including the Chief Executive, Richard Shakespeare, the City Engineer and Assistant Chief Executive, John Flanagan and other senior Planning officials. They responded extremely positively to the proposals, the level of professionalism of the approach from a voluntary organisation, the involvement of Grafton Architects and indeed the Village Ideas Project as a whole. They were very complimentary of the work carried out and presented to them, and acknowledged that Sandymount is in need of public realm enhancements . It was agreed that as a next step, DCC’s senior executives would review the priority projects at a high level internally across their Architects, Engineers and Planning Departments. They called a meeting with SAMRA in April 2025 , where they repeated their enthusiasm for the project ideas as a whole, and undertook to develope a scheme for the public improvement of the north east side of the Green, which would include traffic calming, ahead of a future project to traffic calm the central area of the village where five roads meet. Further projects will be considered by DCC over the next number of years based on the Grafton Architect's integrated ideas, as funding becomes available. SAMRA met with Richard Shakespeare and his project team last September , where they presented their initial proposals, which were designed to accommodate both uses of the area, as a one-way road with parking on the Green side, and as a pedestrianised area in summer weekends. They informed us that they would be developing them for a Non Statutory Public Consultation in the coming months. That Consultation has since taken place across Dec 25 and early this January. We have since met DCC in early March to review progress. Their plan is to further develop their scheme and lodge a Part 8 Planning application in April. All going well, they will tender the project late this year and start construction in Q1 2027. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMME Over the course of the last three SAMRA AGMs and through our various newsletters, we have described many of the Grafton Architects ideas and our progress with DCC on their plans for delivery of the first project. In parallel with our discussions with DCC, in April 2025 SAMRA planned the next stage of the Ideas project which is a comprehensive Community Engagement Programme. We again applied for funding from the Community Gain Liaison Committee covering a public Presentation by Grafton Architects and the design of a dedicated website providing full details on their creation of their ideas. We were successful in obtaining the grant and work to prepare this Engagement Programme commenced in January 2026. The website will be a live site where updates are provided as projects proceed, and feedback is provided by residents, businesses and other stakeholders.

BACKGROUND Flood defences are the No 1 priority for SAMRA on behalf of the community. We have been lobbying consistently for the 6 years for the construction of such defences. In December 2024, Jacobs Engineering was appointed to design the Alleviation Scheme. The project is being led by Dublin City Council on behalf of the Office of Public Works, who are the National Competent Authority for the provision of flood defences. Funding is part of the Government's €1.3bn National Development Plan for flood relief measures. SCOPE OF SCHEME The scheme will consider potential flooding from coastal, drainage and river/streams sources, to alleviate the risk of flooding to the community. It will be developed to provide a determined Standard of Protection (0.5% Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP, 1 in 200 year). CURRENT PROGRESS Public Open Day held in April 2025. Various engineering and environmental tasks are in progress (and will be ongoing throughout the design stage), including surveys, asset condition reporting, and sea level and wave action modelling to inform the design of the coastal protection scheme. Engagement with property owners, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, An Taisce. Design development to second stage of Non-Statutory Public Consultation. NEXT STEPS 2nd Public Consultation - Emerging Coastal Options for defences along Strand Rd. - Q2 2026. 3rd Public Consultation - Preferred Option - Q4 2026. Planning Application to An Coimisuin Pleanala - Q3/Q4 2027. GOVERNMENT ACCELERATING INFRASTRUCTURE POLICY This policy adopted in late 2025 is designed to accelerate the provision of infrastructure which SAMRA assumes will apply to this Flood Alleviation Scheme. The 4 key pillars of the Policy include 1) legal reforms to mitigate delays in statutory approvals for critical infrastructure, 2) statutory approvals reforms to accelerate approvals by the various agencies , 3) obligations on state agencies to coordinate various projects in a particular location and 4) concerted efforts to encourage public buy in to infrastructure projects. SAMRA believes that all these pillars could provide very significant benefits to this project, particularly in terms of timeliness. Legal and approvals reforms are designed to reduce the timeline of the overall Planning processes that will apply to this project. This should hasten the projected construction of the coastal works. The obligations on state agencies to coordinate various projects in a particular location should, in SAMRA's opinion, significantly support the call to include off road cycling infrastructure in this Alleviation Scheme, as SAMRA and others have campaigned for. A solution for the repeated foul sewer discharges to Sandymount Strand, such as an interceptor drain, should also be considered in the scope. This would require various state agencies such as the NTA and Uisce Eireann to engage with DCC and the OPW to deliver these co-location projects. SAMRA believes that public buy in to the project will be significantly enhanced by the provision of such additional projects, which will provide very significant community gains. 

Parking has been very constrained in Sandymount over many years for residents, businesses and visitors. In the Village Ideas project, SAMRA examined various proposals to increase parking opportunities around the village, including consideration of various means to encourage a relatively short turnover of shoppers' etc parking on the business streets to discourage day long parking for anyone except residents. In November last, SAMRA met Dublin City Council parking officials to discuss these proposals, and for various reasons including Bye Law regulations, they saw no prospects in these opportunities to improve the situation. In January, SAMRA examined further opportunities, primarily considering various locations where road markings could be adjusted to provide more parking spaces. We have requested DCC to consider such changes through their Traffic Services Request process. We identified possible locations on and just off the Green on Newgrove Avenue that would be particularly helpful in meeting people's concerns. The one on the Green is to do with what appears to be confusion concerning disabled parking. Two new disabled bays were installed some time ago in a new location adjacent to the junction, and it appears that the two existing disabled bays immediately 'downstream' have been removed. However this is not very clear as the old road markings are not fully removed and thus cause confusion. We have requested clearer road markings for these spaces to general parking. On Newgrove Avenue, there is a considerable length of double yellow lines to the right of the entrance to Mount Tabor. In addition, there is a gap in these lines at what is a redundant narrow gate on the Mount Tabor wall. There has been a sign on that gate for some time noting that it is not in use, although that is not there now. At a minimum, a space outside that apparently redundant gate would be very welcome. A review of the extent of the double yellows is also requested. There may be a sight lines issue, but even with some reduction of these lines, some parking bays should not inhibit sight lines in either direction. SAMRA has had a response from DCC about the suggested parking on the gable of Tesco, where DCC have said that the suggested location is on private land. Tesco have since informed us that their land is limited to the line of their building wall, so we are re-visiting this with DCC. Our suggestions for limiting double yellows along Sandymount Rd seem very clear cut as they are outside the walls of houses, away from driveway entrances. Lastly, we have suggested some changes to road markings on Strand Rd adjacent to the junction with Marine Drive. In all, our Requests to DCC could deliver up to 13 spaces. It remains to be seen what their responses will be.

Deputy Ivana Bacik - 20th June 2025​ David, thank you so much for the letter and for continuing to highlight this outrageous situation, as you know I have been active and outspoken on the urgent need to clean up Dublin Bay for years – now you have galvanised me again to chase the Minister further on the action that he is taking to tackle the sewage problem – I have also been working on a plan to make further progress in this new Dail term with my Dublin Bay Bill. I am copying in Chloe Manahan my political adviser and we will put down Parliamentary Questions on this and get back to you as soon as we have a response from the Minister – many thanks again to you and SAMRA for keeping this issue highlighted! As a postscript, I’ll be swimming off the South Wall myself again this evening where happily the water quality is usually much better because we are further out to sea.. Best wishes Ivana Councillor David Coffey - 22nd June 2025 Hi David, I am just acknowledging receipt of this email. I wish I could tell you that I will get it resolved but you know the problems better than I do. I will talk to James Geoghegan about it to and try to establish what we can do to apply pressure on the decision makers. Regards, David Councillor Dermot Lacey - 20th June Dear David, Thank you for your email. I agree with you and will raise the matter. Unfortunately ultimately this is a matter for National Agencies so I will also speak with Ivana about raising it with the relevant Ministers. Dermot Deputy Eoin Hayes -17th July Dear David, I agree that the reply is not adequate and provides no reassurance that they are committed to any temporary improvement measures that might alleviate the problem in the short term. I will follow up with UE at the CEO/Board level and at Ministerial level with your suggestions. I had hoped to catch the Minister for Public Expenditure (who has responsibility for this) today, as the delivery timelines of the Greater Dublin Drainage Scheme are at best worrying in the current context but was unable to, given his schedule. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this and I will keep pushing! Best regards, _ Eoin Hayes TD Deputy Eoin Hayes - 2nd July ​ Dear David, Thank you for your letter and I absolutely share your disgust and frustration, which I also shared with the Dublin People recently. In April I asked the Minister to share the actions his department were taking to deal with the dumping of raw sewage onto Sandymount Strand but the question was referred to Uisce Eireann on grounds that it was an operational issue. Below is the response I received from Uisce Eireann for your reference; I will raise this with the Minister again at the next available opportunity. Ceasing this practise is a key priority for me over the course of my Dáil term. "Dear Deputy Hayes, I am writing to you today regarding your query on the Ringsend Wastewater Treatment plant. Your Uisce Éireann reference number for same was 89862/34449, which was raised on the 01/05/2025. I understand this issue was a source of concern for your constituents. Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade Ringsend Wastewater Treatment plant is the largest in the country, treating 40% of all the country’s wastewater. Uisce Éireann is investing €550 million in an upgrade of the plant which allow it to treat the increasing volumes of wastewater arriving at the plant to the required standard, enabling future housing and commercial development. The project will deliver, on a phased basis, the capacity to treat the wastewater for a population equivalent of 2.4 million while achieving the standards of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive by the end of 2025. Uisce Eireann completed construction of the infrastructure in Ringsend to treat the wastewater for a population equivalent of 2.1 million at the end of 2023. Following a period of testing and commissioning the upgraded assets are operational and effluent quality improved significantly in 2024. Compliance with the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive is assessed retrospectively based on the attainment of 12 months compliance with the UWWTD Emission Limit Values (ELVs). We are monitoring the performance and the loading of the plant closely with a view to achieving this at the earliest possible time. Ailesbury Pumping Station The stormwater overflow at Ailesbury pumping station (near Sandymount) is a critical flood defence mechanism for the protection of properties in the locality. The sewer system in this area was built in the 1900s and, as was typical at the time, it carries both wastewater from homes and businesses and water that is drained off roads and pavements, roofs and patio areas of local housing. This predates current building practice and current standards now required to meet the bathing water criteria. This stormwater overflow is designed in particular to protect Ailesbury Gardens and St Albans Park from flooding during periods of intense rainfall. If this storm water station does not activate or where the rainfall in the catchment is greater than the capacity of the pumps, internal property flooding with rain water and sewage from the combined sewer is observed. To alleviate the flooding the storm water and diluted combined sewer flows are pumped to the coast and discharge directly to the strand. Uisce Éireann completed a substantial upgrade to Ailesbury pumping station in 2021, which included works to reduce the risk associated with pump failures. Further works are planned to improve the monitoring of the overflows from the combined sewer catchment leading to this pumped SWO. Uisce Éireann is also progressing the catchment study or Drainage Area Plan (DAP) for this area to investigate the performance of the wider sewerage networks. Uisce Éireann established these programmes to help understand and improve the performance of the wastewater networks, protect the environment and facilitate social and economic development over the coming years. This is an extensive element of work to survey the historic network and create a model to allow future upgrades to be designed to ensure any future proposals are fit for purpose, in line with climate change and new rainfall intensities, and meeting bathing water and discharge requirements. I trust that this update provides clarity to both you and your constituents. Should you have any further queries, please don’t hesitate to contact us on the details below. For the latest supply and services updates, please see: https://www.water.ie/?map=supply-and-service-updates . Yours sincerely," Ban - courtesy of Uisce Eireann! Here are examples of raw sewage discharged onto Sandymount Beach by Uisce Eireann. This happens up to 10 times a year. It has been going on for years. If a private company was polluting a UNESCO biosphere like this, it would be closed down....immediately. But not Uisce Eireann. It is allowed to create this public health hazard time and time again. It is not sanctioned in any way. The Environmental Protection Agency is not interested. Instead of banning the polluter, swimmers have been banned for the Summer. Who is in charge? We have been lobbying on this issue for years -nobody cares! SAMRA wrote to all public representatives in November 2024. We have written again to see what they can do .... if anything. We will keep you posted...