Council votes to conserve prison site

COUNCILLORS in North Dublin have registered their protest against the planned super prison by voting to designate the land as an area of architectural conservation.

According to Fingal Co Council’s conservation section, the building attached to the now infamous 150- acre farm, Thornton Hall, should also be listed as a protected structure

As a Dáil debate over the proposed Mountjoy replacement was taking place earlier this week, Fingal councillors decided the land where the prison is to be sited should be designated as an Architectural Conservation Area (ACA).

This covers the prison site and no other land. Representatives voted in favour of the motion against the advice of the county manager, who said it did not comply with either Government legislation or guidelines.

Councillors voted despite being advised it would have little impact on arresting the development of the site. But it reveals the strong opposition within the council to the proposed super prison and adjacent central mental hospital at Thornton.

It also foreshadows future battles over infrastructure for the site, such as roads, sewerage and water.

The site zoned for rural and agricultural use under the most recent 2005-2011 development plan.

An ACA is a “place, area, group of structures or townscape ... of special architectural, historical, archaeological, artistic, cultural, scientific, social, or technical interest or value, or contributes to the appreciation of protected structures.”

Under the legislation, a local authority may include plans to preserve the character of the areas to ensure their preservation.

Justice Minister Michael McDowell has exceptional planning powers in relation to buildings, including prisons, directly linked to the security of the State. He can bypass all planning procedures and is only obliged to “have regard” to issues such as protected building or conservation areas.

In a subtle, but possibly more effective, move to block the plan, councillors voted for a hotel and golf course development to the west of Thornton.

Developers advising the Irish Prison Service are hoping to buy a portion of this land for an access road. But while the hotel complex remains in play, it is likely the owner will only be interested in selling all the land and not just some.

Meanwhile, Mr McDowell said RTÉ’s Prime Time report earlier this week had been discussed by the Cabinet and he had written a letter of complaint to each RTÉ Authority member.

He said today: “It is up to the authority to decide how to address the wrong that has been done.”

A spokesperson for Prime Time reiterated the programme-makers rejection of the minister’s complaints.