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SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY Council has said it is having “continuing problems” maintaining the boundaries on the Clonburris lands, near Clondalkin in the west of the county.
Locals say the unused green area – which has been tipped for a new housing development – has become a hotbed for crime, anti-social behaviour, and abandoned horses.
In recent months, the particular problem of young men driving cars, quads and scramblers in the area has worsened.
A spokesperson for the council told TheJournal.ie that it has made repeated efforts to secure the boundaries to prevent people accessing the land for such uses but the most recent fence it erected lasted just 24 hours.
They said: “The council’s environment, roads and economic development departments have made repeated efforts to secure the boundaries to these lands by way of erecting fencing, placing boulders, concrete blocks and mounds of clay.
However, there have been several repeated encroachments through these boundaries onto lands for anti-social behaviour purposes, with the most recent fence erected on 24 August 2017 surviving less than 24 hours.
“The council is currently re-examining its options in this regard as it is not viable to repeatedly repair and reinstall fencing at these locations,” they said.
The images supplied by the council show barriers completely torn down and, in one case, the barriers cut in two.
As for the horses in the area, the council said that it is working in collaboration with animal welfare groups, its own contractor and the DSPCA on how to best deal with the issue of horses on the land.
“We are satisfied that there are currently no immediate welfare issues as the horses (fodder and water is available), but our main priority toward them is about provision of secure boundary treatments which will prevent access by vehicles which enter and subsequently chase the animals,” the spokesperson said.
So far this year, 27 horses have been removed from this area.
There are plans to build a new suburb on the Clonburris lands, and locals hope that the project to will put an end to anti-social behaviour at the site.
Local councillor Francis Timmons told TheJournal.ie: “At the minute – the animal cruelty and burn-out cars – we can’t allow this to continue.”
Ironically, the worsening of the situation at Clonburris – much of which is in private ownership – is partly as a result of successful efforts to tackle cars being driven and burnt-out at the nearby St Cuthbert’s Park.
Eoin O Broin, Sinn Féin TD for the area, said the community had come together to tackle the issue at St Cuthbert’s. As a result, some of the worst activity has migrated to the disused land – parts of which are isolated and out of sight from roadways.
Despite the entrances being sealed up repeatedly by the council, anti-social behaviour persists as demonstrated with the most recent barrier.
The Clonburris lands, as they’re part of a Strategic Development Zone, have been deemed to be “of economic and strategic and social importance to the State”.
Timmons added: “This could be a great development, it really could help solve a lot of the anti-social problems. But if it’s not done right it could be a disaster.
We want to learn from the mistakes of bad planning and avoid the sort of problems that have happened in other areas in the past.
With reporting from Daragh Brophy
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Put a Jobcentre on the site, that’ll scare them off.
@alphanautica: AAAAAHAHAHA…love it
@alphanautica: funniest comment in ages
@alphanautica: laughed my head off at this one, love it.
@alphanautica: very funny,thanks for the laugh. Would they be able to read the sign.
@alphanautica:
Brilliant, that’s what makes wading through the comment section worth it.
Electrify it, happened in Jurassic park but not when the power was up!
@Eoin Cowan: Ever heard of gloves? Or shoes? And, how much would it cost to electrify the fence, bearing in mind that it all has to be insulated from the ground, and the size of the fence would result in large electrical drain.
Might aswell hire the army to patrol the lands with tanks and helicopters, would be cheaper.
@Andy K: WATCH OUT, there is a pack of velociraptors behind you!
It’s fake news. Things like this don’t happen on the south side.
@Eoin Cowan: no6 shot, 12bore…..
@Eoin Cowan: clever girl!
@Tweed Cap: It wpuld be, but this is more to the west than to the south.
@Eoin Cowan: This is what free housing gets you.
I’m coming round to the idea that a period of mandatory national service/conscription would pretty much put an end to this sort of carry on.
@Eilís Ní Laighléis: yes, teach then how to use guns – great idea
@shits ville: No.. teach them civic awareness and responsibility. Give them the opportunity to learn more than they already know. To increase their experiences beyond what might be expected currently. And so what if weapons training is an element. There’s a lot to be learned there too, including respect.
@Eilís Ní Laighléis: I think you’re now referring to the job of a parent not the army.
@Eilís Ní Laighléis: bring in conscription, that’s a very modern solution eilis. Maybe corporal punishment too. Spank their bold arses
Find them and stop all there social welfare payments. If sickens me that my tax pays for their dole
@Nick Allen: The children 0f waged people are all perfect and never cause any trouble.
@Neal Ireland Hello.:
Where did you get that rubbish Neal, any evidence to support it? I know of lots of children from waged people that cause problems
@Nick Allen: I think you missed the sarcasim.
@John Mulligan:
And Neal may have missed the point that may tax doesn’t go to pay the dole of people who are working. If you read my comment you will see that is the point I am making
@Nick Allen: there’s always one
Skangers. And when they put in 8000 new houses, it will be free housing for the skangers to breed more skangers. Endless wasters!
@Art Attack Head: Ireland’s eugenics programme!
Long range sniper rifle and a licence to kill would sort it.
Get the slurry spreaders in.
@Dave Sherman:
Qt last someone with a practical solution!
This country is too lenient on thugs. 12 months compulsory service in the army is what is required.
@Sallins Man: Pity they did away with hard labour for thug criminals.
The most notable statement in this article about Clonburris is “much of which is in private ownership”. The private owners sit on the site and contribute nothing to it’s upkeep or security while tax payers money is wasted to counter anti social and animal cruelty issues here. When the time is right to sell at a huge margin for housing these private owners will bail out and be the real winners while the locals have suffered. The private owners should be shoulderd with the bill to secure this site or be forced to sell it off at a much reduced price to the local council.
@winston smith: a vacant site tax would help
@winston smith: On the other hand anyone having private land or private backyard is entitled to some level of policing for their property. Why we can’t enjoy the land as is and share it respectfully says a lot about us as a people.
Same reason why parks are locked up at night as make shite of it and ourselves too.
Well, it shocks me more that there is a parkland of that size just fenced off and not being used so close to the city. Surely they could have opened the land for people to walk their dog or something until they are prepared to build there. Then money would not be wasted on fences, and as people would walk around the place it would see a reduction (not elimination) in ‘crime’.
@Andy K: theories about passive security are worthwhile, but 700 acres of rolling lands with trees and hedges breaking up sight-lines is not where such measures work.
The thing I don’t understand is why is there no reference to policing by An Gardaí of the issue? The total absence of any reference suggests the community may have lost all hope of action by them to prevent these ongoing crimes – and are to some extent making their own provision.
If the Gardaí have become so irrelevant, it may be time to disband them, and replace them with a more functioning force, such as the PSNI.
@Andy K: Yes. Instead of fencing it off with ugly barriers develop it so everyone can use it. Building even more houses will only increase anti social behaviour. People need a ‘green space’. What will they turn to for entertainment when that is gone? Drive around the estates on their scramblers and leave horses in front gardens? The land didn’t create the ‘problems’ so taking it away won’t solve them.
@Missyb211: Please provide evidence to demonstrate ‘building even more houses will only cause antisocial behaviour’, as that’s new to me.
Building houses at sites like this during a housing crisis is long overdue and should have happened before the current crisis was allowed cook up.
@Ruadhán MacEoin:
Building high density housing without the associated social infrastructure does help to contribute to anti social behaviour. It is not the only influencing factor, there are others such as education and unemployment
@Ruadhán MacEoin: agreed. All our government seem to do in bring in laws that are never enforced.
Sound like it needs a great big wall
@Shane Cormican: I’m sure these lads will be heading to mexico once Trump has his wall. the bigger the challange, the bigger the ego.
2 bed terraced €300,000
3 bed end of terrace €325,500
3 beds starting from €450,000
4 beds – price on application.
5 bed with stables – price on application
Exclusive development on the banks of the grand canal, stunning views of local surroundings including easy access to the M50 car park.
The boom is back.
@Rob Keane: Great, I loved the boom more so than the recession for sure. Now is the time to make hay for to weather the next recession storm.
A moat?
@Rathminder: Cheapest and most effective would be to dig a trench and a mound.
Lads have you tried landmines?
It mad we have population of wasters like all funded by those who works hard and have to pay for everything even when these rob you, you still have to pay for their legal costs and time in jail. There no reason with a population like ours these can’t find work.
Love the way Dspca are mentioned!!! They’ve done hardly anything to help. It’s been my lovely horse rescue up there morning noon and night helping those poor horses…
Tarmac the place…flatten it.
It’s a hell Hole for murderers, dead dogs, horses, god only knows what else :(
@Martina Kenny: pity we can’t have a bit of land set aside we can share without messing it up…
Houses to be built in a few years, who’s building them 5 year olds
Building more houses there is a mistake.
@Stephen Maher: private housing for people to buy is ok. Massive social housing estates (which wont happen thankfully) are bad
@Tony Stack:
Im sorry Tony but people would want their heads examined buying a house any where near it, and im no snob, i live in tallaght.
Theres a massive property crash on the way.
The UA 571-C is your only man for a job like this.
@Honeybadger197: you need two of them, makes a nice field of fire with less chance of escape…..if only
@Honeybadger197: I think you mean the Lockheed AC-130
@Honeybadger197: In fact 4 of them.. just in case.
Get Donald Trump to build it ! Now there’s a man who knows his fences !!
@Brendan T. M. P. Bur: he still hasn’t built didley sqat yet
@Andy K: We have tanks and helicopters!
Connect an electricity line to it and it would keep the idiots away.
When are they going to build these houses?I wonder can I buy of the plans cos it sounds like a delightful place to style with a family
@Declan Snow: you know nothing Dec Snow
@Jamie:
You won’t be able to buy them, they will be given out free to the same gobshytes that wreck the place and we will spend a fortune in maintenance over the years
@Nick Allen: sad but true
To Hell or Connacht why waste money putting up fences when there are towns and villages all over the West of Ireland looking to be re-populated. Obviously as Dublin expands there is demand for rezoned housing suitable for people and families prepared to work for a living. There is no crime in owning a horse, but there is a place for everything and everyone in our society.
@Chris Kirk: yeah they can gallop round some of the islands all they want. Off the mainland, with no bridge preferable
Rockall seems a good candidate
The amazing thing about this entire thread is nobody mentions the Gardai.
Has our respect and confidence in those who are supposed to uphold the law been completely eroded ? It would appear to be a big YES.
A very dodgy situation !
There just riding there bicycles the state is riding us about housing for yrs
@Chris Kirk: actually that’s the best idea. We should do the China approach. Don’t do well don’t work fine you get to live in sector 17 off to Leitrim with yourself there’s a house waiting for ya.
I can understand people needing social housing they’re too damn expensive to buy.
But when you see the whole family sitting around like this is a perfectly ok situation. It’s like somebody who needs to work in the city is being deprived because you just want to sit in the middle of the action and not actually contribute.
It’s like someone using a filling pump spot to eat an icecream while there’s a que waiting to fill up
There just riding there bicycles the state is riding us about housing for yrs
comcrete t-walls…theyll be there till doomsday trying to tear them down.
https://www.google.com.ng/search?q=concrete+t+walls&oq=concrete+t+walls&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l3.7826j0j4&client=ms-android-samsung&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#imgrc=4cHSwJaYXbX5LM:
Identify them, chain gang them and have them clean up the mess.
You should see results fairly quickly.
The more they mess it up the greater amount of labour in sorting it out.
Cold hard motivation for civic responsibility.
How to identify, you ask?
Smart water – see wikipedia, UV Paint & Anti vandal paint.
Its cheaper overall to be proactive on crime.
Idiots.
Just turn the area into a dirt rally track and let them at it.
Sorted
Anti-Social behaviour? If I understand it correctly, the issue is youths getting together, away from other people on a disused green site. Technically they are being social together and not being anti-social to anyone in the immediate vicinity of their homes. Crimes may be committed perhaps but unless something isn’t being reported, no anti-social behaviour is taking place.
Electrify it!!
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