Lansdowne Road redevelopment a step nearer

THE redevelopment of Lansdowne Road took a step closer yesterday when the company responsible lodged its response to the additional information requested by Dublin City Council in relation to the planning application to redevelop the stadium.

The Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company (LRSDC) response was handed in to Dublin City Council yesterday.

The original planning application was lodged with Dublin City Council on January 12 of this year and the Council subsequently came back to LRSDC requesting information under a number of different headings.

Philip Browne, chairman of LRSDC and IRFU Chief Executive, said that the request for additional information was very much the norm for a project of this scale and complexity.

“We factored in the request into our planning timetable so we are still completely on schedule — we had allowed a year for the planning process. We now look forward to receiving a decision from Dublin City Council.”

Mr Browne also noted that while “obviously everything is dependent on receiving planning permission” the LRSDC still had deadlines to meet as a result of commitments it had made, so “we must press ahead as soon as possible on all fronts.”

He added that the LRSDC’s timetable envisages a 12 month planning process followed by a building programme of 27 months. Construction is scheduled to start early in 2007.

Mr John O’Donoghue, TD, Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, welcomed the news saying he looked forward to the completion of a second major Stadium in the city.