Councillor Derren Ó Brádaigh is calling for faster enforcement action by local authorities to intervene where trees on privately owned land parcels are not being maintained. This follows a serious incident recently, when trees that help to form a boundary between 10 homes in Old Forge and Haydens Lane in Lucan were deliberately set alight.
Cllr Ó Brádaigh said “I was notified by residents shortly after a serious incident in which it is alleged that a fire was deliberately started in the treeline on Haydens Lane. I have previously raised this issue with South Dublin County Council over concerns regarding the sheer height of these Leylandii trees that I would estimate to be about 70 feet high. This species of tree can in fact grown to 140 feet.
The Councillor also said “In May of last year, I brought this to the attention of the Council, and I received a written response stating that an inspection would take place, but without any further update or action. I understand that the narrow land strip that extends for 100m here is not taken-in-charge by the Council, as it remains privately owned. In terms of its value to anyone, not very much can be made of it and as we see elsewhere with small segments of ‘locked in’ land, nobody is ever quite clear over the actual maintenance. This needs to be addressed.
Cllr Ó Brádaigh added “These trees are more suited to woodland areas with deadwood and leaves dryer than that of most trees. On Haydens Lane they overhang family homes, are rooted to within 10 feet of an end house, in my view are unacceptably close to residential properties and as we’ve witnessed an immediate risk to lives. Only 2 years ago they were set alight in a near identical incident. If it were not for the rapid response of the Fire Brigade this could have been more serious. Residents that I spoke to were keen to express their appreciation to the emergency crew, telling me that they arrived in under 10 minutes.
The Councillor concluded by saying “I have written a detailed letter to the Council, and I have spoken with a public realm official since this incident. I was informed that any trees that are effectively in the public domain and aligning a public street will be referred to the Roads Section, can be inspected and a letter issued to the registered owner or company of the land in question with any instruction toward maintenance works and compliance. A period of approximately 6 weeks is given, before the Council can then undertake any deemed necessary works and forward the bill on for payment. Unfortunately, and from my own experience of this and similar situations, this system is not effective in situations of real potential risk to lives and homes. I would urge the Council to review this with a view to expediting the procedure whenever there is a recognisable risk to human life, placing priority to public safety over and above ownership of the ground underfoot.”
