Motion on acquiring Blackrock baths from NAMA
Issued : Monday 28 November, 2011
If confirmed that Blackrock Baths is part of a property portfolio acquired by NAMA, this Council should consider seeking ownership of the baths from NAMA when the Council's current lease expires.
The public would like Blackrock Baths to be owned by the Council. Until recently the site was part of Treasury Holdings and the Council only has a lease on the buildings, That lease is due to run out shortly and the site was expected to be developed by the developers. If the Manager of the Council can confirm that the property is now part of a NAMA portfolio, why not acquire this iconic site for public use.
The baths is very important to the character of Blackrock. Its presence, its stature, is one of the defining features of the town. As visitors arrive on the DART or pass through on frequent trains, the baths is the feature that alerts those to their arrival at the town.
The baths are a very important part of our local history. For years CIE maintained a gate on its northern platform to allow visitors easy access to the baths. Hundreds of Dubliners came daily to Blackrock, their main reason, a swim in the baths.
Perhaps the days of massive diving boards, large outdoor pools and fresh water baths are over but without easy access to the site; the Sutton to Sandycove proposed cycleway might prove difficult to develop. Do the Dubliners want this site developed into a Benedorm complex on the shores of Dublin Bay?
“In these hard economic times, we must ensure that we are planning for the future. The Council are currently consulting locals on a future Area Action Plan for Blackrock, I am proposing in my submission that our seashore br centre to any plans and acquiring this site would be vital”
Cllr 
