Madam, - The article in your property supplement of July 17th on future plans for the Rathmines area of Dublin unfortunately failed to mention that these are a result of united action by local groups under the Rathmines Initiative, which I chair.
Up to recent years there was little community involvement in the development of the area, which tended to be led by private commercial interests, and no public investment since the building of the swimming pool in 1977. Our object is to re-establish Rathmines as an urban village, while stimulating suitable commercial investment.
With a grant from Dublin City Council, we engaged UCD School of Architects to conduct a study of the area, which established a framework for future development that was adopted by the City Council.
One of our flagship projects is the development of the swimming pool site, which will redefine the centre of Rathmines while providing badly needed recreational facilities.
In addition, along with the Civic Trust, we carried out an architectural inventory of Rathmines Road, which resulted in a pilot study to demonstrate how the conservation of these houses could regenerate this entry to Rathmines.
Our planned development of the old fire station to provide a "one stop shop" for the local community has had to be shelved because of the withdrawal of funding in the last Budget. The development of the swimming pool site will also require Government funding. - Yours etc.,
Cllr. MARY FREEHILL, Rathmines, Dublin.