Harold's Cross Park and the Strange Case of the Missing Railings.

dublin | history and heritage | news report Monday April 10, 2006 23:16 by Chris Murray - TaraWatch dotliath at gmail dot com n/a 087-7765289

City Council Removes Victorian Railings in People's Park.

Harold's Cross Park celebrated it's centenary in 1994. A plaque commemorates the endowment of the Victorian Park to the people of the Rathmines/Harold's Cross townland. Cllr Mary Frehill performed the dedication ceremony. The park is a protected structure in its whole integrity including the original railings, the promenade ring, the hankerchief tree which commerorates the Women's Laundry strike and the view of the chapel and cemetry at Mount Jerome.
Today at 11am, I walked to the park with my daughter to find the park be-ribboned and works ongoing which are dedicated to the removal of the Victorian (or Edwardian ) railings, for 'safety reasons'.
There has been no planning notice to this effect on the railings or access points to the park. There has been no public consultation with the residents of the area as to the plans undertaken by Dublin City Council. When I started to take photographs I was threatened by a council worker that he would take a photo of me and that he would call the gardai, thus I confined my mobile camera to the pretty ribbons, until braver people came along. I asked a park keeper if this work would not affect the visual integrity of the park and if planning permission had been sought. He replied that as it was a safety excerise, that he did not believe that permissions were required. The protected structures within the park: two red-brick out-buildings are protected but the park itself was under the jurisdiction of the council. Councillor Frehill, when contacted stated that the works were going to be stopped pending a site visit this evening and a look at the plans for works. There has been in effect a complete stoppage of works until the reason for works and plans are inspected, under enforcement regulations.

The council are not making press or media statements on the issue until tomorrow morning.
The works that were being undertaken by Dublin City Council include the removal of brush from areas of the park, enhancement of safety and visual amenity of the park by the removal of the original railings
and the raising of the kerb, there is a programme for re-tarmacing the pathways around the promenade ring. There is no statement about what they intend to replace the railings with or where they are going. If anyone knows how the council performs the operation of reduce, reuse and recycle they may guess. I say this in jest, given the removal of large areas of cobblestone in the north inner city some years ago, which magically re-paved the interior of the Temple Bar area.
A temporary enforcement and work stoppage is in place. I was told that the works were of a permanent nature for reasons of safety. Cllr Frehill was told that it was a temporary safety issue. I have used the park for many years and have heard nothing in the way of complaints about the safety of the railings.
at the very least there should have been a public consultation about any changes to the park which is a green area for the enjoyment of the residents in the area and a publication of any plans that directly affect the visual integrity of the amenity.
Harold's Cross Park is a protected structure. The integrity of the whole would include the railings as well as structures within the park. The claim that only objects within the park such as the two outbuildings and promenade ring are protected is risible. It was endowed as an amenity to the people of the area in 1994, any change to the visual integrity of the amenity would have to be undertaken through consultation and or plebiscite. There has been no consultation with the residents of the area . Cllr Frehill was not informed of plans to modernise the visual integrity of the structure. No plans have been published which discuss the future visual planning of the parkland. There has been no statement to the media regarding the issue of change to the integrity of the Park.The claim that planning permission is unecessary because of safety concerns is misleading . Safety concerns is an all-encompassing statement which does not reveal what the council intends to replace the original railings with. The temporary stoppage of works will allow for consultaion with elected representatives.
The public to whom this park has been endowed have not been consulted on the issue of changes to their park.