on Oct 27th, 2006
Parish Centre history
The parish has had a dream for many years of building a new centre to replace the old and dilapidated parish hall situated 150m away from the Church. The plan to have a centre beside the Church and Rectory provides particular hope that the combination can be used in the revitalisation of the parish and the community.
The new Parish Centre photographed in May 2007.
Considerations to develop a new parish centre have been in train for more than a decade. In the early 1990s, the thinking was to develop a single building in or near the Church grounds that would house the national school, the parish hall and accommodation for the sexton. The parish had no funds of its own and were drawn towards an arrangement whereby a single developer would consider constructing such a building as payment for the purchase of the existing sites comprising both the parish hall and Greenlanes national school.
This proceeded very slowly. In 1995 Dublin Corporation granted outline planning permission for such a development to be built on the tennis courts at the rear of the Church. This permission was subsequently overturned by An Bord Pleanala, when many of the nearby residents combined in a very professional manner to appeal the grant. Some limited attempts were made over the following years to revive the plans but by the end of the 1990s it was clear that no progress was being made and a new approach was needed if the parish was to build its long desired new centre.
In late 1999, a new property committee was established and a new brief prepared for its work. It was agreed in mid-2000 that what the parish needed was a new parish centre to be built at the church. The new centre would not encompass the national school which by now was in the process of regeneration. The school would remain at its current site at Greenlanes. It would not be feasible to refurbish the existing hall which was in place for over a century. With land prices in Clontarf reaching new heights, it was felt that the centre could be funded largely from the sale of the current hall site, albeit that building costs for the new centre were also rising.
The tennis courts before the builders moved in.
A new architect was appointed and plans were drawn up to develop a centre that would be attached to the Church. This was referred to as the “wraparound” proposal. Drawings of the plans were presented to the parish at the Easter Vestry in 2001 and drew general acclaim. Final touches to the plans were developed throughout 2001 and they were ready to go forward for planning permission by early 2002.
However the latest stumbling block became the inability to obtain informal views on the plans from the city planners and, in particular, the heritage officer attached to them. This was made more necessary following the introduction of the new legislation on protected buildings and the inclusion of the church on the list of such buildings. Finally in late 2002 word was received that the planners would not entertain a proposal to attach the centre to the church. It was back to the drawing board again.
In early 2003 the property committee proposed that a new architect be appointed. The brief for a centre was updated to allow for a building not connected to the church. The architect appointed is Mr Michael Mohan, who was the architect for the new parish hall built beside St Mary’s Church in Howth in the late 1990s. Mr Mohan has been involved with other church related designs. The quantity surveyor is Mr Robert Garrett (of Coolock Parish) who has also been involved with church developments. They assembled a formidable team of experts to work on the project.
The architect presented drawings based on the new brief to the committee in June 2003. Subsequently, the architect made contact with Dublin City Council planning officials and in November 2003 firm indications were received that the plans would be acceptable to them. A key feature of the plans is their architectural fit with the design of the Church. Following further discussions between the architect and the committee a final set of plans was presented to the Select Vestry in January 2004. These were approved by the Vestry and sent to the RCB seeking their approval, which was granted in April 2004. A report from a Planning Consultant was prepared to accompany the planning application, in addition to a Conservation Report on the impact of the centre on the Church. Meetings were held with neighbours on Seafield Road and Kincora Road to explain the plans to them.
Building work well underway.
The planning application was lodged with Dublin City Council in July 2004. There was an objection from one of the neighbours and the application was appealed to An Bord Pleanala. In February 2005 the application was granted approval subject to some small modifications including putting in a substantial barrier of trees and shrubs at the rear of the centre on the boundary with the Kincora Road houses
The proposed development sits on parts of three distinct ‘grounds’. These are the glebe, the Church grounds and the tennis courts behind the Church. The centre is positioned an appropriate distance from the neighbouring houses and is in reasonable proximity to the Church without encroaching upon it. While using some of the Rectory garden it does not impinge on the Rectory itself.
The part of the Rectory garden in the glebe used for the development included an old, derelict ‘coach-house’ and scrub land that lay between the actual back garden and the tennis courts. The scrub land had never been a useable part of the garden. The coach-house was not used for any purpose at all, was in derelict condition and effectively boarded-up. The Rectory driveway, widened towards the church, is to be the access road for the centre. In 2003 the parish spent €200,000 refurbishing the rectory and improving the useable part of the gardens. However work on the scrub land and the driveway, which was in poor condition, was not undertaken as it had been anticipated that they would be incorporated as access for a centre. While the development means that there is an overall reduction in the size of the rectory garden the resulting garden will be better suited to the needs of a rector and his (or her) family, especially without the scrub land and thick driveway hedgerows.
The part of the Church grounds used for the development covers an area of rough grass and scrub. This is not used for any purpose at the moment. In order to enhance the links between the Church and the centre a new door at the west end of the Church is being built to provide ready access between the two buildings. A modern toilet is being built inside the tower at the rear of the Church.
The tennis courts at the back of the Church included one tarmacadam hard court and three grass courts. The hard court will be covered by the centre. The prefabricated tennis pavilion, which was in very poor condition, has been demolished and the space used to meet car parking requirements for the development. The grass courts will be replaced by a new all-weather multi-sports surface and the surface will be completely surrounded by new fencing. The areas between the fencing and the outer boundaries, and between the fencing and the church will all be landscaped to finish off the development.
Following receipt of the planning approval the Design Team set to work preparing the Tender documents. These set out all the requirements for the centre in complete detail. The Design Team expertise came from the architect (Michael Mohan), the mechanical and electrical engineers (Jim Brunswick), the structural engineers (Frank Lee), the quantity surveyor (Robert Garrett) and the sports surface specialist (Giles LLoyd). This work carried on for nine months, much longer than anticipated but reflected the desire to include as much detail as possible in the Tender. This meant some long hours were also spent by the property committee acting on behalf of the Vestry, working with the Design Team.
The Tender was issued in January 2006 to five contractors, each of whom had been pre-selected by the Design Team as quality candidates and had indicated their interest in the contract. Following the Tender, the contract was awarded to Tolmac Construction Ltd. Once all the formalities such as signing of contracts and arranging insurances and guarantee bonds, were completed the contractors moved onto the site at the end of March 2006. The contract stipulates a completion date of 30th March 2007. At this stage it is expected that the new centre will be ready for use by the parish in early May 2007.
The brief for the centre includes many of the features in the old parish hall. The proposed centre is however a two-storey building with the upstairs social area overlooking the outdoor playing grounds and the indoor main hall (whose use will include badminton and bowls). All rooms in the centre will be larger than in the old hall. There is accommodation for a rector’s study and parish office, which will be new features. The kitchen will have hatches giving direct access to the main hall and minor hall.
Progress on building the centre has been good to date. Taking a selection of items from the building programme we should see most of the work on the roof of the centre completed by the end of October. The first fitting of electrical, mechanical and carpentry items will continue through November and the lift should be installed in December. The paving and landscaping work encompassing the centre and grounds should begin in January while the installation of the all-weather surface is due to be carried out next March. Much of the internal fit out of the centre is due to happen in January and February. The work on the new church door and toilet should be finished in November.
In considering the use of the centre once it’s occupied all the parish organisations have been asked to complete a survey of their preferences and requirements from the new centre. This covers the potential use of both the centre and the grounds. The Vestry are currently checking out how other centres of similar size and scope are managed and the results of these investigations along with the survey will go towards ensuring that the new centre will be managed as efficiently as possible from the outset.
The centre is designed to modern needs for access and health and safety. Having it sited beside the church will provide a considerable boost to the activities of the parish, both among ourselves and in the wider community.