Casement Park residents allowed their hearts rule their heads
Against considerable odds, they took on the Department of the Environment and won. Planning permission for Casement Park was denied. It was a victory for the little guys.
As ever, the lawyers were the main winners. While the residents enjoyed a triumph, they will still have a considerable legal bill to pay.
In general terms a day in the High Court would usually involve the recruitment of a QC (Queen’s Counsel), a junior barrister and a solicitor. A bill of €13,000 would be a conservative estimate. The hearing between the Casement Park residents and the DoE lasted 13 days.
After Mr Justice Horner ruled that planning process was “fundamentally flawed,” the DoE agreed to contribute €45,000 towards the residents’ legal bill. But that is very unlikely cover all their costs, conservatively estimated at €90,000.
The residents’ conviction can only be admired. However, it’s still hard to avoid the conclusion that they allowed their hearts to rule their heads.
Last week, the residents were in a strong negotiating position. They had real power. It was within their scope to significantly reduce the cost of redeveloping Casement Park.
When Mr Justice Horner invited the parties to make submissions, a deal could have been thrashed out.
The GAA tried to negotiate a compromise through an intermediary, a representative from Heron Buckingham JV (HBJV), the firm that has the contract to build the stadium.
The GAA opened the negotiations with an offer to reduce the capacity from 38,000 to 35,000. The GAA also confirmed that it would honour a “proposal for working arrangements” that was made to the residents on April 11, 2014.
The Irish News in Belfast has obtained a copy of that document. It outlines the process that would be used to create a compensation package for the properties around Casement Park.
Under the arrangement, HBJV agreed to place “a guaranteed sum into a fund”. In order to evaluate a sliding scale of compensation, HBJV confirmed that they would accept the verdict of an independent mediator who would be appointed by the Chairman of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Northern Ireland branch).
HBJV also confirmed that the project would draw a “firm, irrevocable commitment” from the company to support:
* Long-term unemployed,
* Apprenticeships
* Sponsorship of certain local schools (primary/secondary)
* St Agnes’ Church
* Andersonstown and Upper Falls traders
* Local construction supply chain
* Local labour force.
It needs to be stressed that no concrete offers were made to the residents. But this basic blueprint, coupled with the offer to reduce the stadium to 35,000, was a starting point.
However, the residents refused to begin horse-trading. Their response was unequivocal. It would be a 25,000-seater stadium or nothing. They wouldn’t budge.
It’s a sincere pity the residents adopted that position. It was unlikely the GAA would ever cede to that demand. Contrary to a common misconception, Casement Park is not being redeveloped to serve as Antrim’s county ground. It’s going to be the new provincial stadium. To host an Ulster final, it needs a capacity of at least 32,000.
Given the stadium’s express purpose is to host Ulster finals and All-Ireland quarter-finals, it was probably unrealistic of the residents to expect the GAA to comply with their demand for a 25,000-seater stadium. That was never going to happen.
It is difficult to understand their position. Had the residents engaged in dialogue with the GAA, they could have wrung some decent concessions. But due to their unwillingness to consider anything other than a 25,000-seater stadium, the negotiations never got off the ground.
Now, the GAA must begin the process again. Talking to various individuals last week, there was a very clear sense that positions have become entrenched. Battle lines have been drawn. It has started to get quite personal.
Think how Carál Ní Chuilín felt when she opened the Irish News last Tuesday and saw SDLP councillor Tim Attwood smiling alongside the celebrating residents. Moreover, consider Mark H Durkan’s reaction. The SDLP’s environment minister had to look at a party colleague enjoying a result which quashed his decision to grant planning permission.
Ní Chuilín has already signalled her intent. A few hours after the ruling in the High Court she guaranteed that the €77m funding for Casement Park will be protected in next year’s budget.
Eamon O’Brien is the chairman of the Croke Park Streets Committee. He doesn’t actually live anywhere near Croke Park. He lives in Castleknock but he is still the chairman of the residents group which played a key role in stopping the Garth Brooks concerts. For the last year, O’Brien has been advising the residents around Páirc Uí Chaoimh and Casement Park.
Croke Park normally stays out of Northern affairs. Last week, however, the GAA’s director general broke that trend when he came out with all guns blazing.
Páraic Duffy insisted Central Council was fully committed to redeveloping a stadium in Belfast. Duffy forthrightly dismissed any talk of a 25,000-seater stadium. Instead, he argued the case for a 38,000 all-seater venue.
Ulster GAA officials will spend Christmas licking their wounds. Nevertheless, they have pledged to redouble their efforts in the New Year.
Moreover, they are confident that planning permission for a 38,000-seater ground will be passed. In his ruling, Mr Justice Horner raised no objections to the design of the venue.
Planning permission was denied because of the DoE’s failure to conduct proper traffic assessments and environmental impact surveys.
Put simply, the DoE failed an exam. But in his ruling, Mr Justice Horner provided the answers for the re-sit.
If planning permission is secured at the second time of asking, the residents will have to find the money and the energy to launch another judicial review.
Even lawyers will privately concede that in these types of cases, the team with the biggest pockets normally wins. And €77m of government money can buy trousers with very deep pockets.
It is widely believed that Casement Park will be developed into a stadium with a capacity of at least 35,000. When that happens, apart from their legal bill, it will be very difficult to ascertain what the residents actually gained from their day in court.
