[article] Metro to save millions by banning tunnelling payouts

[Mark Gleeson]

Originally Posted by Irish Independent

Metro to save millions by banning tunnelling payouts

HOUSEHOLDERS and businesses affected by work on Dublin's new underground Metro won't get a cent in compensation for extensive tunnelling under their property.

A new law kickstarted yesterday by the Government put a nil value on land below 10 metres.

The timing could not have been better as the exact route of the Metro - from Dublin city centre to Swords via Dublin Airport - is due to be announced by Transport Minister Martin Cullen as early as tomorrow. Environment Minister Dick Roche said the end of underground compensation will potentially save "both time and money in the Metro project".

It means the millions in compensation paid out to householders and businesses as a result of the Dublin Port tunnel underground tunnelling will not be repeated during the Metro project.

It has been confirmed that the new Metro line will run underground from St Stephen's Green through the Grafton Street area, past the gates of Trinity College and down Westmoreland Street to O'Connell Bridge. From there it will continue underground to the revamped Mater Hospital, and underground stations at Drumcondra, Griffith Avenue and DCU.

From DCU, the agency's preferred route is overground to two stations at Ballymun, Metro Park and on to the airport, where it will run underground again.

From the airport, it will travel overground to Fosterstown, Swords Estuary and finally the terminus in Lissenhall. One of the city-centre station's entrances is to be located on the northside, possibly at Bachelors Walk, the other on the southside of the river. The Railway Procurement Agency believes that underground mining will reduce traffic restrictions during the underground works at the station. These are set to start in 2009.

Meanwhile, rogue builders with a history of unfinished or badly left estates will be refused planning permissions under new laws approved yesterday in a new planning and development act.

The minister kickstarted section 9 of the Act which will enable planning authorities to withhold planning permissions from rogue developers on the basis of past history of non-compliance and not completing housing estates.

"Any such abuse of our planning code cannot be tolerated," said Mr Roche yesterday.

"In the past, some rogue developers have been getting away with not doing their jobs."

Until now, planning authorities have been required to prove an applicant's history of non-compliance with permissions or conditions of permissions before the High Court before they could act.

Burden

The new measure reverses the burden of proof and should make it easier for local authorities to tackle bad developers, insisted the minister.

Other important provisions approved yesterday include new powers for An Bord Pleanala to deal with appeals made primarily, or solely, with the intention of extracting money from the applicant.

Mr Roche said occasional spurious and groundless appeals were an unfortunate feature of our system.

"They pervert our democratic processes and divert time and resources away from dealing with authentic and justified appeals," he said.

Treacy Hogan

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