#SOSDunLaoghaire - The Save Our Seafront (SOS) group says large cruise-berth 'inappropriate for our Victorian harbour' writes yesterday's Irish Times.

Approximately 150 attended a public meeting in Dún Laoghaire organised to mount a "major campaign" against a proposed cruise berth in the harbour.

Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company is to seek planning permission to replace the former Stena Line (HSS) berth as previously reported on Afloat.ie with a facility to accommodate large cruise ships.

The meeting, which was organised by Save Our Seafront, a lobby group chaired by local People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd-Barrett, heard the group was appealing to Minister for Tourism Paschal Donohoe to intervene and direct the €18 million project be "shelved".

The meeting also discussed making submissions to the county development plan calling for the harbour to be protected from private residential development and large retail use.
The plan for the cruise berth involves demolishing the purpose-built Stena Line HSS ramps and moorings, and building a 390m cruise berth that could accommodate very large ships. The process would also involve significant dredging of the harbour.

Submission

A spokeswoman for the harbour company said the proposal is expected to be submitted to An Bord Pleanála under strategic infrastructure legislation by the middle of this month. It had been expected the submission would be made in April, but submissions from public consultation "are still being considered".

The spokeswoman said there was a "substantial enough response" to the consultation process, including "some very detailed submissions".

In a letter to Mr Donohoe the group states: "In our opinion this kind of berth is inappropriate for our Victorian harbour, and threatens public access and marine leisure activities in the harbour.

"More importantly, we are extremely upset at the lack of any comprehensive public consultation on the issue. The harbour company ran a badly advertised non-statutory public consultation process over the two weeks of the Easter holidays. Most of the residents of Dún Laoghaire only became aware of this as it ended."

For more on the proposed cruise-berth,click HERE.