{"id":279204,"date":"2025-10-05T09:34:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T09:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/279204\/"},"modified":"2025-10-05T09:34:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T09:34:18","slug":"some-sea-views-along-dart-line-to-be-lost-due-to-planned-flood-defences-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/279204\/","title":{"rendered":"Some sea views along Dart line to be lost due to planned flood defences \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Plans for new flood defences along the Dart <\/a>line in south Dublin<\/a> will replace household sea views with concrete walls, residents have learned. <\/p>\n

They say the plan will also kill off hopes for a long-promised walking and cycling path along Dublin Bay. <\/p>\n

Irish Rail<\/a> says the work is vital to protect the rail line from rising sea levels, intensifying storms and heavier rainfall, but local people are appealing for a rethink. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf this goes ahead, there will be a lot of saddened people,\u201d Marie Baker, a Fine Gael councillor for the area said. <\/p>\n

The new defences would run for 4km from Merrion Gates to Seapoint \u2013 one of five stretches of rail line prioritised for works under the East Coast Railway Infrastructure Protection Projects scheme (ECRIPP). <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Rising sea levels, more storm surges and shifting weather patterns put properties at riskOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

They would be built of concrete on top of the existing stone walls, adding 1.3 metres to the height on average. <\/p>\n

Some glass would be installed at stations along the route to preserve views for waiting passengers, but Irish Rail said it was not possible to use it more extensively. <\/p>\n

\u201cFlood glass, on its own, is unable to withstand the size of wave and storm loads we expect to experience by 2075, for which we are designing these interventions,\u201d a spokeswoman said. <\/p>\n

Ms Baker said the loss of views was no trivial issue, as the connection with the sea defined the character of the whole area. <\/p>\n

She said she had suggested installing storm drains and attenuation tanks to quickly drain and hold flood waters, and hoped this might still be considered. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think people realise the extent of what is planned. We needed better drawings from Irish Rail to show what it looks like now and what it will look like when they do what they\u2019re planning as a comparison. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re sitting on the Dart, you\u2019re not going to see a thing. I\u2019m not denying we need to do something, but we need to look more at this proposal.\u201d <\/p>\n

Retired architect Michael Collins said the proposal would end hopes of completing the Sutton to Sandycove (StoS) walking and cycling path. <\/p>\n

The northern half from Sutton to the Dublin Docklands has been completed, but the southern half has not progressed. <\/p>\n

\u201cStoS would not only provide a tremendous amenity but it would actually solve the flooding problem,\u201d Mr Collins said. <\/p>\n

He said a continuous promenade on the seaward side of the rail line, bounded by a wall of moderate height and bolstered by rock armour, would block the waves and allow any overtopping to spill on to the path, saving the tracks and the views. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Areas on Dublin\u2019s northside among most at-risk from \u2018extreme coastal events\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

He said the additional cost could be offset by savings from an Eirgrid plan to lay a high voltage cable from Blackrock to Poolbeg, by running it out into the bay and back. <\/p>\n

\u201cEirgrid could lay the cable under the promenade, which would cut the length in half and save an awful lot of money,\u201d Mr Collins said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a solution that works for everyone, and it\u2019s very frustrating when agencies don\u2019t work together for the common good.\u201d <\/p>\n

Irish Rail said flood defences outside the existing walls were considered, but were ruled out because of the expected impact on protected habitats.<\/p>\n

Special dispensation from Europe would be needed, and this could significantly delay the project, it said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe works proposed in these areas would not preclude a walk or cycleway seaward of the rail boundary being delivered in future by a body responsible for active travel,\u201d it added. <\/p>\n

However, it said these too would likely need permission from Europe. <\/p>\n

ECRIPP is open for public consultation and submissions until October 13th.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Plans for new flood defences along the Dart line in south Dublin will replace household sea views with…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":279205,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[40460,4735,746,144308,159,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-279204","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-dart","9":"tag-dublin","10":"tag-environment","11":"tag-irish-rail","12":"tag-science","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115320878916262728","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}