The Greystones ‘Give Us Back Our Harbour’ group and directors of harbour development company Sispar held a first meeting on Wednesday 8 June and agreed several steps aimed at opening the fenced-off harbour to the public this summer.

Sispar accepted that the need to open up the south end of the harbour to the community is a “given”. The company accepted that a plan to do this must be finalised as quickly as possible, and implemented immediately thereafter.

Directors Paraic Keogh and Paddy O’Rourke agreed a target date of 27 June by which they would return to the community with proposals which would take into account the proposals submitted by GUBOH and other parties.

GUBOH handed over copies of the group’s latest proposals, updated in the light of earlier discussions and subsequent advice. Given that whatever interim works are carried out now could be in place for some years to come, the proposals stress the need for a quality approach and high standards in implementing them.

The group was represented by spokesman Basil Miller, John Byrne, Fiachra Etchingham and John FFF O’Brien. The group strongly put the case that plans to open the entire site need to be considered in the light of the economic and banking collapse and the subsequent funding shortage.

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GUBOH suggested landscaping and opening up the north side of the development (apart from the area needed for the Primary Care Centre (PCC)) including the north harbour wall. Sispar agreed to consider this and engage in further consultations.

They also suggested placing fixed moorings in both inner and outer basins as a means of providing a revenue stream and opening the area to public use. The company agreed to consider this.

The GUBOH plan emphasises the need that any temporary works be of good quality and should restore the general attractiveness of the harbour area as a visitor destination, as well as giving back the amenity to the public.

“Greystones harbour has always been at the heart of the town,” Miller told the Sispar representatives. “It has been essential to tourism in the immediate area and is the termination of the Bray to Greystones Cliff Walk. It is also a hinge point in plans for a continuous coastal walk stretching from Bray to Wicklow.”

Because of the importance to tourism of restoring the visual attractiveness of the area, GUBOH stressed that any work must take this wider context into account.

“Whatever is done to ensure this must be done to quality standards. It must be acceptable both aesthetically and functionally. It must preserve the attractiveness of the spot and, in fact, it must add to and enhance the attractiveness of the area in its quality and aesthetics,” said Miller.

The GUBOH representatives emphasised the need for speedy action. Fiachra Etchingham pointed out that work on a plan submitted by 27 June would have to start on-site that same week in order to ensure the beach and other amenities would be available to the public for any substantial part of the summer.

Sispar agreed that immediate action would be essential if access was to be available in time for the August Bank Holiday.

GUBOH suggested that the area of the proposed public park be landscaped to a basic standard of quality as a second step in the process and opened as a temporary park before the end of this year.

GUBOH accepted that further consultations between Sispar and the local community would be via the meetings recommended unanimously by Town Councillors at their meeting on 31 May, where GUBOH will be represented.

(GK)