Protect our Parks, South Dublin.
FAO The Planning Department, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council
We, Protect our Parks strongly object to the staging of 5 concerts in Marlay Park this July.
Protect our Parks is a group of like-minded people from the South Dublin
area, who wish to reduce/oppose the holding of concerts held at Marlay
Park.
Our aim is to limit the impact on local natural environment as well as reduce
the impact on local residents and the disruption to daily lives.
To use a brief analogy to describe what has been happening over the last 15 years - the County
Council have been throwing a house party without even bothering to ask the rest of the family if it’s
ok. The difference this year is, many people who have felt isolated in their own views have had
enough. The silent many are voicing their discontent and it’s time for the council to listen to the
people whom they represent.
We object to the concerts on the following grounds:
First and foremost, the Location of Marley Park in a residential suburb is not an appropriate
setting for commercial concerts & the park itself is not fit to hold these events.
To begin we would like to point to one of the many examples which we feel reflects the conflict of
interest shown by the Council when granting licenses for outdoor events in Marlay Park.
Scoil NaithÍ, the Irish speaking primary school in Ballinteer had often held their annual sports day in
Marlay Park. DLRCoCo only gave permission for this on the provision that the park warden on the day
was happy with the condition of the pitch. There was a possible 100 children ages 4 to 13 who would
be running and doing egg and spoon, sack race etc. Two years in a row the Sports Day was
postponed because it was deemed that the children would damage the grass because of wet
weather in the week preceding the sports day. If the council are to stay consistent with their duty of
care to the park, how on earth can they grant a licence for thousands of adults to trample the park in
the wettest of conditions?
The decision making process is fundamentally flawed and this is only one example which shows this..
Big business seems to have its own rules and that’s why going forward we urge the council to
commit to a complete change in their consultation, regulation, negotiation and decision processes.
Consultation Process and Resident Associations:
There has been a lack of consultation with local residents throughout the process.It is obvious that
there is an unwillingness to consult and engage with residents and notification of significant
increases in concerts and capacity were not adequately communicated over the years
We understand that it is the responsibility of residents to inform themselves on issues in the locality;
however channels should be made available to residents who may not be as comfortable with IT and
accessing websites. Any suggestions of surveys etc. have been firmly knocked back within some of
our members associations.
Its time for DLRCoCo to fully engage with residents and park users rather than offering carrots in the
form of cash donations and free tickets to some local residents associations in the immediate vicinity
of the park.
Does the council need to sell out to MCD productions when DLRCoCo is a mostly prosperous area
with high property taxes and rates from the largest shopping centre in Europe and from Sandyford
industrial estate?
Wildlife & Environment
For over ten years now, Marlay Park’s natural habitat has been deeply affected by the concerts.
Many laws are being broken with regards to nature and we as a group firmly believe that the lack of
any Environmental Impact Study carried out since the introduction of big concerts to Marlay Park
evokes negligence and denial on the part of DLRCoCo & the concert promoters MCD.
It just isn’t good enough to throw a blind eye and loosely claim to have Environmental Monitoring
systems in place surrounding the concerts.
We are sure with the many individual submissions you will receive, you will see many examples of
the damaging effects the concerts are having on the park’s wildlife, flora & fauna.
We refer to the E.U Habitats Directive which was incorporated into our national legislation, Wildlife
acts 1976/2000, which affords protection to specified bird life, some of which can be found in
Marlay Park. The wildlife act also states that in the period between March and August, no noise or
disturbance is to occur that effects breeding birds whilst on or near their nests.
We also refer to the Park Bye-Laws –
“No person shall take from the park or destroy or injure or otherwise interfere with any bird,
bird’s nest or bird’s eggs in the park or ill-treat, worry or disturb any animal in the park.”
“No person shall walk upon any flower bed or through any shrubbery, enclosed plantation or
other enclosed land in the park”
“No person shall destroy or injure any tree, shrub or plant growing in the park”
Do these bye-laws mean nothing?
The introduction over the last 2 years of Longitude, a three day festival which sees a greater number
of stages erected in different areas of park has been especially detrimental to Marlay Parks. Native
trees of great age and magnificent beauty were chopped down, areas of natural shrubbery cleared
out, pathways destroyed and new pontoon bridges put in place to make it convenient for concert
infrastructure to be rolled in and then rolled out throughout July.
If the County Council has any care for nature, and any care for the Park users they will stop with this
madness. We need to slow down and re-evaluate the situation.
Marlay Park has suffered enough and its time you give the park and its residents some peace.
Park & Road Access
The Location of Marley Park in a residential suburb is not an appropriate setting for commercial
concerts. This leads to Road closures and very limited park access throughout the month of July.
Reports of people coming home after shifts in the evening unable to drive down the Grange Road to
their homes is concerning. We have to think about the elderly, the sick and especially small children
in regards to this.
The park is closed to walkers on concert days. Our public amenity cannot be used for its primary
purpose by the people who value it most. July is our best weather and last year the idea of walkers
and park users being turned away for 9 days is simply scandalous. This year it will be 5 days with
limited access for about a month
Pollution & Noise
“Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse
change. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light.
Pollutants, the components of pollution, can be either foreign substances/energies or naturally
occurring contaminants.”
Noise & pollution are one.
Noise is as much a pollutant as the litter that builds up and the affluent that streams into our lakes
and rivers.
The World Health organisation recognises noise pollution as “a threat to public health….It can
disturb sleep, cause cardio-vascular and pscycho-physiological effects, reduce performance and
provoke annoyance responses and changes in social behaviour”
Protect our Parks urge the council to think about the elderly, the sick and small children when
making this decision. Noise pollution is a major problem surrounding the concerts. The vulnerable
people in the locality suffer the most and it is time the council realises the impact it’s having.
Protect Our Parks would argue that the high numbers of rats in the park over the past year was
related to the extremely long concert window that took place last year. A large amount of people in
a place, along with fast food stalls, and discarded rubbish, tends to attracts increased numbers of
vermin. This has been documented in photos and videos and the numbers of vermin were quite high
until the high profile pest control programme was initiated a few months ago. Arguments have been
put forward that the rats were due to a mild winter but the influence of the concerts, and other
events in the park that involve licenced food stalls, must have some part to play.
Health and Wellbeing
Marlay Park is our most loved and valuable amenity for almost 40 years. The impact of the concerts
on people who exercise, walk and participate in leisure activities can not be underestimated
especially when there is growing concern about mental health, obesity and alcohol problems. These
activities contribute significantly to the local population in tackling issues such as obesity and mental
health wellbeing. The holding of concerts and selling of alcohol at the concerts are completely at
odds with the purpose and aims of the park. We strongly object to the sponsoring of the concerts by
the drinks companies and other commercial sponsors.
The social aspect of the Markets at weekends is also impacted during the concerts. On concert days,
Markets are cancelled meaning that the social outlet for park users is taken away.
I would also like to highlight the impact on young families living in nearby apartments in the area.
These families rely on the park and its space in the absence of gardens.
Business
We believe that contrary to the soundbites coming from councillors and big business officials, most
businesses see a drop in custom and revenue during concert season.
The weekend markets are great in so many ways and are important for local economy stimulation,
but the concert season disrupts and restricts both customers and stall holders, many of whom
depend on local custom for their livelihood, during what should be for them the most profitable
season.
Anti-social behaviour
There have been hundreds of reports over the last years of public consumption
of alcohol, drunkenness, drug use, public urination, public defecation, vomiting, intimidation of
residents, particularly of more elderly residents, highly unsatisfactory experiences for younger
children etc.
Many residents, particularly aged residents, feel afraid, vulnerable & intimidated by the large
crowds.
Again, we urge DLRCoCo to change their mind-set. Stewarding and Garda presence just isn’t enough
to cover the vast area surrounding Marlay Park.
Unsavoury incidents and loutish behaviour will always find a way to slip through the protective
netting.
We saw what happened with the Phoenix Park concerts. Are we just going to keep going until there
is a tragedy?