MetroLink:- NTA plan to take an area in our Public Park the size of 8 Tennis courts, permanently for their Shaft and car park!!
GADRA have contacted all newly elected TD’s asking them make representations directly with the NTA/TII on your behalf (see letter below).
As you are aware the NTA/TII have decided to carry out ‘consultation’ on the Vent shaft planned our public park (Albert College Park). You will be aware that, unlike all the rest of the structures along the metro line, this is the only above ground structure and the only structure that was left out of the public consultation on the Preferred route. While GADRA and our Residents remain completely supportive of the Metro project, we are extremely preturbed by the proposal for our park whereby the NTA/TII plan to take a significant area, approximately the size of 8 tennis courts, out of public use without any meaningful consultation with the public nor with DCC on the fundamentals of the proposal. The present process is not in our opinion a meaningful consultation as the leaflet as circulated by TII today (attached) clearly states that residents are only being asked about two things -on asthetics and on construction methodology (the details of which are not included in the leaflet as supplied by NTA, making it very difficult for a member of the public to make an informed submission). The NTA have confirmed to us that they do not plan to hold any open days to answer any questions. Given that residents are not being consulted on the position of this shaft, nor ongoing environmental impacts during the long term operational phase, nor about the permanent land take aspect, we do not see this as an appropriate consultation process given the significance of the proposals.
The footprint of this shaft and associated Carpark will be permanently lost from public use and this is unacceptable to our residents. As you know we will never again get one inch of parkland back in our area which makes our park so precious. It also appears that there will be a ‘whoosh’ of air from the vent and associated noise each time a train passes -probably every two minutes. The NTA have produced feedback leaflets with no requirement for name or address, which makes us question the validity of this process -we fear that this maybe just a ‘box ticking’ excercise.
Our membership mandated us three years ago to protect our parks and gave full support to our presentation at this years AGM to the issue as we outlined surrounding this shaft and metro. Therefore we have been working very hard to protect the park. There is a solution -to change this shaft to an underground station and we are pleased that you support this approach.
We are very disappointed with the way the NTA/TII have treated our residents throughout this process and we do not feel that they have satisfied their obligaation under the Aarhus Convention in any way with regard to this shaft (lack of information and consultation)
We do not feel that the land take from the park for a shaft should be a point for negotiation and therefore we are not seeking a meeting ourselves with the NTA as we do not feel this would be constructive. We are asking you to make representations directly with NTA on behalf of our residents in order to change the shaft to a station and save our park!
Kind regards
