A PLANNING application to revamp an urban farm in south Dublin is to be lodged this month.Some €10 million is to be invested in Airfield estate Dundrum as part of an upgrade of the facilities there.
The 35-acre estate, which was bequeathed to the people of Dublin by the Overend sisters, is a working farm and education centre. It also features extensive gardens and is a popular destination for school groups.
The estate is run by a trust on a not-for-profit basis and the planned improvements will be funded by the trust.
The planning application, to be lodged with Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council this month, includes the restoration of Airfield House where an archive collected by Letitia and Naomi Overend will be put on display.
A new entrance is also planned to allow access to the farm from Overend Way through Dudley’s Field, a 3.5 acre part of the estate sold by the trust to Cicol Ltd for over €16 million in 2005. The field has yet to be developed.
A new cafe is planned as part of the development project with some retail space. New craft and educational rooms are also included in the project.
Improved and centralised farm buildings are to be developed along with a new kitchen garden and three acres of display gardens.
Solearth Ecological Architecture has led the design team on the project.
General manager of Airfield Kathy Purcell said the project had been developed over the last two years and would retain the integrity and authenticity of the estate.
She said the estate would be able to cater better for the needs of visitors and would be more accessible.
The new farm centre will include a dairy and visitors will be able to view cows being milked. Allotments will display vegetable growing.
“We want to reconnect people to understanding the importance of agriculture to the Irish economy,” Ms Purcell said.
She said the conservation of Airfield House would be the most expensive part of the project.
Asked whether the trust might consider buying back Dudley’s Field, she said their focus was on the new project.
If planning permission is granted, the project is likely to begin in late 2011.
Open days will be held at Airfield on Saturday 5th and 12th of June for anyone interested in viewing the plans for the project.
