Red Network Condemns Coldcut Rezoning Council Decision

Red Network councillor Madeleine Johansson has condemned a recent vote by South Dublin County Council (SDCC) to rezone a parcel of open space land opposite Liffey Valley Retail Park on the Coldcut Road for residential development.

The vote took place in a special meeting on Monday 19 October, where twenty voted for the rezoning to residential, eighteen voted against, and two – independent Alan Hayes and Fianna Fáiler Tanya McDonald – abstained.

Councillor Johansson argued that retaining the open space zoning would make the land available for “additional public amenities such as allotments, community and sports facilities,” and that the SDCC had already exceeded the baseline requirement of 11,699 units of housing to be built by 2028.

While a majority of SDCC councillors agreed to retain the open space zoning for the Coldcut Road lands earlier in the year, a report from the Chief Executive of SDCC Colm Ward prompted a majority to vote in favour of the residential rezoning in October.

Councillor Johansson stated that she “will be continuing to campaign for the Coldcut to be kept for community use, both in terms of the club members who want to keep it for the community,” and that if planning permission is approved, she is going to “help organise the local community to fight back.”