Dublin Airport 'hopeful' work can progress on plane-spotting facility after Council requests
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Dublin Airport is hopeful that the delivery of a new dedicated "plane spotting" facility can progress after it provided Fingal County Council with additional information on the proposal.
The proposed Aircraft Observation Facility will be located on the site of the current informal viewing point on Old Airport Road. Known as "The Mound", the site is fully owned by Dublin Airport and has been used by the public for 40 years to watch planes take off and land.
According to daa, operator of Dublin Airport, the facility will provide a "comfortable and safe space for the community to view aircraft movements, with a clear view of the south runway (10R/28L) and the cross-wind runway (16/34)". Facilities in the planning application include a dedicated car park with 22 parking spaces (including two spaces for people with reduced mobility and two dedicated family spaces), bike parking, and an elevated covered platform with seating.
It will also be fully-lit, with power provided by solar panels located on the site. Daa made an initial planning application to Fingal County Council last year, and they were requested to submit further information regarding aspects of the proposed development.
The info provided by daa includes:
An agreement to relocate bicycle parking facilities on the site
Details of the materials that would be used in construction
Answers to other questions posed by the planning authority regarding the decision to include/not include certain amenities within the development
Managing Director of Dublin Airport Gary McLean said : "Aircraft observation facilities are a feature of airports around the world, and we want to get on and build this as soon as possible. The public reaction to our proposal, which we'd pay for, has been incredibly positive and people really want it.
"This location has been an informal 'plane-spotting' area over the past 40 years and we think it's time to put a more formal facility in place. It's a rite of passage for kids in Dublin to be taken to 'The Mound' to watch the planes landing and taking off at the Airport.
"This new facility would make it safer and more enjoyable for users and we think it's a facility that the local community will really enjoy. We look forward to working with the planning authority to deliver this much-wanted public amenity which would be used by locals young and old for decades to come."
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