Major rezonings proposed in South Dublin

Feb 26
7 min read

Short cuts (click on name): Clondalkin - Lucan/Adamstown - Newcastle - Rathcoole - Saggart/Citywest

The Government has asked South Dublin County Council to rezone a massive amount of land for rezoning outside of the normal development plan process. Some of this is in land that the Planning Regulator would not let be rezoned four years ago as there was already a sufficient amount of land for housing until 2040 at least.

SDCC has proposed a large number of rezonings within the boundaries of Dublin Mid-West Dáil constituency, a lot of it around Lucan, but also significant amounts elsewhere including Clondalkin, Newcastle, Saggart and Rathcoole. See "Proposed Variation No. 2 to the South Dublin County Development Plan 2022-2028" here: https://consult.sdublincoco.ie/en/consultation/proposed-variation-no-2-south-dublin-county-development-plan-2022-2028

In general terms most of them do not make good planning sense, especially in the absence of copper-fastened commitments on community facilities and public transport infrastructure. Our towns are already gridlocked, there is a shortage of childcare places, second-level school options and a reliable bus and rail service.

Lucan/Adamstown

Lucan, as with previous Development Plan Amendments, bears the brunt of the rezonings.

My designated replacement on the Council, Helen Farrell, has done up a very good information piece for the Lucan area rezonings and this can be accessed here: https://www.helenfarrell.com/2026/02/04/rezoning-2026

It includes a template for making a written submission and while we would urge individual submissions online, on multiple rezoning proposals, we understand that this is not possible for everyone and this is why Helen has put together the printed template.

My take on the Lucan proposals:

St Edmundsbury

Housing estates here would be an absolute abomination. Multiple efforts to rezone the gateway to the scenic Liffey have been attempted and even with the sweetener of a “park” on sloping lands already protected by a Special Amenity Order, repeated rezonings have been turned down.

This proposal represents a new threat and to illustrate how close things can be, in 1998 a vote to rezone was defeated by 14-12. So nothing can be taken for granted. It’s not just about traffic on an already congested route, it’s about what development is appropriate in such a high-amenity area.

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Foxhunter Site

Rezoning this “Retail Warehousing’ area to “Existing Residential’ would facilitate development here, as previous applications were turned down on appeal.

These applications also sought a pedestrian and cycle access opening into Hermitage estate. SDCC supports “permeability”, so it would be granted most likely, if rezoned even though there is already a cycle route planned as part of the Bus Connects link through the Ballyowen Park adjacent.

Current laws restricting parking spaces in new developments; this would basically turn Hermitage estate and especially bordering cul de sacs into an overflow car park.

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Finnstown Castle

This is the green area beside the Finnstown Castle Hotel site. Attempts have been made to rezone this previously.

While it fits the “infill development’ criteria used by South Dublin to approve other relatively smaller sites, it takes away another piece of green space which, if it ended up in public ownership could be better used for community amenities and additional playing pitches. Another problem with this location is that the Newcastle Road already has multiple housing estates opening out onto it and is regularly congested. The bus service along this route already gets overcrowded at peak.

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Tubber Lane North

The narrow Tubber Lane beside Hallwell is wholly unsuitable for large-scale housing and is an attempt to squash anything in anywhere. The Council has put in conditions like no construction before Dart South West and no building before Tobermaclugg Park Opens (which is a condition to be opened in the existing Adamstown SDZ scheme, albeit towards the end of the plan). This is rubbish as the existing Adamstown SDZ plan barely makes the basic amenities required.

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Stonewall (Celbridge Link Road/Tubber Lane South)

This will be a difficult one to stop as under emergency powers the Government already facilitated 132 modular homes for use as temporary accommodation for Ukrainians on lands owned by the Department of Agriculture.

These houses already in situ are designed to be easily moved, and there was always supposed to be a buffer between the towns of Lucan, Leixlip and Celbridge. However this is likely to be one of the hardest areas to persuade a majority of Councillors not to rezone given its small scale and proximity to the existing Adamstown SDZ.

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Adamstown SDZ West

More housing when 3,500 remain to be built in Adamstown and at least 7,500 in Clonburris SDZ. The blurb has Orwellian descriptions like a “Social Infrastructure Audit” and “provision within development proposals to address any needs identified”, a “Transport and Traffic Assessment’ and a “Public Open Space Audit to inform proposals for public open space and recreational facilities”. However, this is not an SDZ and even if it became an SDZ, there are no national mechanisms to ensure that all the facilities and infrastructure will be provided alongside housing rather than people again waiting for years and years. A big “no” until we get better guarantees.

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Adamstown South and West (Outer)

Future Strategic Long-Term Development Area. Ticks box for SDCC to say it’s doing something for housing and yes, there is a logic for limited housing the other side of the rail line near The Crossings. However the capacity when Dart South West is eventually finished years hence will already be constrained by then so it will likely add to congestion and again there is no ring-fenced tie-in for facilities and infrastructure.

This land adjacent to Lucan Sarsfields GAA Club and the 12th Lock proposed amenity area is more suited to meet a playing pitch deficit or as allotments. It also impacts on the recently created canal amenity to Hazelhatch.

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Link to Cllr Helen Farrell's information piece for the Lucan area rezonings, including a template for submissions: https://www.helenfarrell.com/2026/02/04/rezoning-2026

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Clondalkin

Clondalkin rezoning proposals largely relate to three main areas:

Liffey Valley Shopping Centre lands and Coldcut Road site

Grange Castle lands off R136

Knockmeenagh/Newlands (outside constituency)

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Liffey Valley Major Retail Centre (MRC) Lands

This is one area where housing development makes sense. In fact, as someone who has never taken a cent or euro from any developer or business, I felt happy to propose the zoning of lands here as residential in the 2022 Development Plan process, for the simple reason that if you are putting housing development anywhere, this location has a lot of pluses. It has space for a school site, is located directly beside an abundance of retail and Liffey Valley is now a public transport interchange. It would also have access to community amenities once the Coldcut Road lands are not rezoned residential. However my proposal was turned down five years ago, not least because SDCC and the Planning Regulator felt at the time it was premature to rezone with so much land already zoned up to 2040.

The question is then, why now? One downside is that vehicular traffic may be tempted to drive down Coldcut Road and Kennelsfort in Palmerstown, rather than enter the N4 at the Deadman's. Current Government policy restricts car parking spaces, which I think is a bad thing even in terms of encouraging public transport use, but this location has access to a number of spine and local bus routes. If Councillors feel obliged to rezone some sites then this should be higher up the list than others.

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Coldcut Road

On a site, which is part of a larger area owned collectively by bus drivers but understood to be sale agreed with a developer. The campus includes a lot of amenity space still used, an underdeveloped clubhouse and a GAA pitch. SDCC made a bid for these lands and would have definitely built housing on one part, with amenities on the rest (as social housing can be placed on an amenity zoning but not private residential). Whatever about the interests of the collective owners, the wider community interest is likely best served by the site remaining open space.

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Grange Castle (off R136 between Grange Castle Business Park and Kilcarbery)

This site creates a residential island with no central core. Unless it's an SDZ in its own right, with ample amenities tied in, it will just add to congestion and have no sense of community whenever it is built. There are absolutely no guarantees about amenities so even if it's less controversial than some areas, it does not make good planning without ring-fenced guarantees.

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Ninth Lock Road

A very small rezoning proposal taken in isolation. But when you look at the size of the adjacent Clonburris SDZ, which does not have adequate amenities and infrastructure provided for in the plan, you wonder why it makes sense to take a bit of open space here when it could be put to community use.

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Knockmeenagh Frameowrk site

Changing the zoning of the lands between the N7 and Knockmeenagh Lane from Enterprise to REGEN (mixed use) probably allows more flexibility in terms of how the lands should be developed going forward. Older-style industrial units no longer make sense and there is an argument that adding residential and other uses here is better planning. It is also tied into the Clondalkin Framework Plan under public consultation. The downside is that areas is already fairly congested once you get out onto the link roads.

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Newlands

These lands are not in my constituency of Dublin Mid-West but they are historically linked with Clondalkin as well as Tallaght. A lot of residents would like to see a green belt retained here and building on this site will eat into community and recreational facilities.

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Newcastle

Ballynakelly

A massive development proposal in a fast-growing rural town struggling to keep up. Newcastle's zoned lands should be a Strategic Development Zone, but because it is covered by a weaker Local Area Plan, development has been piecemeal and taken a long time.

These lands were proposed to be rezoned before but this was rejected. It appears premature now to zone the Ballynakelly lands when so much housing is still needed, and Newcastle does not have a ring road west or a decent bus service (allowing for our efforts that succeeded in making certain new services half-hourly rather than hourly. There is very little tied in with this lands even if a school site is promised (no commitment from Department of Education)

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Saggart/Citywest

Citywest Hotel site lands (former golf course)

We've seen multiple community concerns about the State purchase of much of the former hotel site for International Protection. Irrespective of this, there was huge opposition to proposals to build here in the past and nothing less than the final reinstatement of the campus back as a community amenity, commercial or not, is what is required. This is another big no.

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Rathcoole

Located between Broadfield estate and Whitehouse Lane, these lands were already part of a longer-term plan for housing. so this brings the area into the equation faster. It's beside the N7 but some concerns might relate to additional traffic in an already congested area. As of now I have not been contacted by residents about this, but will update if specific local issues are highlighted.

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Maps of other proposed rezonings in South Dublin