Childrens Hospital some thoughts

Mock up of Children’s Hospital -

Dear Sir/Madam

I would like to make a submission on the proposed National Paediatric Hospital Project case reference Case reference: PL29N.PA0043 on the St James’s campus, which is proposed. I would like to comment on the following elements below, which directly impact, my local electoral area.

(i) The proposed new a 473 no. bed new children’s hospital (up to 118,113 sq.m. gross floor area) at the St. James’s Hospital Campus, James’s Street, Dublin 8 (which contains Protected Structures);.

(ii) a 53 no. bed family accommodation unit (up to 4,354 sq.m. gross floor area) at the St. James’s Hospital Campus, James’s Street, Dublin 8 (which contains Protected Structures);

(iii) a children’s research and innovation centre (up to 2,971 sq.m. gross floor area) at the St. James’s Hospital Campus, James’s Street, Dublin 8 (which contains Protected Structures);

(iv) a construction compound at the former Unilever site at Davitt Road, Drimnagh, Dublin 12;

I have number of observations set out below

1. The proposed new a 473 no. bed new children’s hospital (up to 118,113 sq.m. gross floor area) at the St. James’s Hospital Campus, James’s Street, Dublin 8 (which contains Protected Structures);.

The new state of the art hospital at St James’s will provide much-needed medical and support facilities for children and their parents all over the country. St James is widely regarded as one of the best hospitals in the country with expertise and services in a wide range of medical areas, which makes it the most appropriate location for the children’s hospital. The building project involves demolition of a number of existing single and two storey buildings on the hospital grounds. These buildings are either currently lying derelict (schoolhouse) while the others are an inefficient use of land in a key inner city location. The new hospital, which will range in height from 4 – 7 storeys will therefore be a much improved and efficient use land within the area. The design of the building which graduates the heights starting at 3 or 4 storeys where they join residential properties, going up to 7 storeys within the campus is welcome as it demonstrates the consideration of the design team to the residential character of the surrounding area.

2. a 53 no. bed family accommodation unit (up to 4,354 sq.m. gross floor area) at the St. James’s Hospital Campus, James’s Street, Dublin 8 (which contains Protected Structures);

The provision of family accommodation will have a significant benefit especially for parents of sick children from outside the greater Dublin region and assist in managing the traffic and transport issues for the families of long-term patients.

4. a children’s research and innovation centre (up to 2,971 sq.m. gross floor area) at the St. James’s Hospital Campus, James’s Street, Dublin 8 (which contains Protected Structures);

In addition to the benefits of hospital, the new research and innovation centre will have positive benefits for patients and will assist in making St James a leading international research centre for childhood illnesses. This could also mean that additional international research funding sources could be attracted to the surrounding areas of the St James’s Campus. A local area plan or strategic development plan should be developed for the wider area to ensure that the development of future services and industry close to the medical ‘campus of excellence’ is appropriately planned for and managed.

5. a construction compound at the former Unilever site at Davitt Road, Drimnagh, Dublin 12;

The use of the Davitt Road compound for storage and construction materials is to be welcomed as an efficient use of surrounding lands which will relieve the pressure on the existing hospital site during the construction phase. Using this site for storage of materials and staging area will mean there is likely to be less traffic disruption on the hospital site as materials are delivered and stored in the compound until ready to be used on site. However, I understand from the submission from the planning authority Dublin City Council, that the current zoning of Z10, the use as a construction compound is not strictly permitted. However there is an option within the development plan to use this site Z10 site based on the merits of applications. I would strongly urge the board to allow use of this compound for the construction period as it will greatly lessen the impact on traffic and other construction related activity on the site of a working hospital and the surrounding residential areas.

6. Impact Surrounding areas
The project will also involve significant infrastructural / road works in the surrounding areas of Mount Brown / Brookfield. In particular the diversion of the existing Drimnagh sewer may have an impact on the residents of the areas. The developer of the project should commit to addressing and fixing all drainage issues in the local area as they arise.

7. Traffic Management
7.1 One of the key concerns of residents will be the traffic management of the project during the construction phase of the project and the operation traffic a large medical facility is likely to bring. In conjunction with the planning authority the developers should also give consideration to improving the access along Rialto Bridge connecting up the Suir Road and Fatima Luas stops, as well as improving pedestrian access within the campus from people disembarking at the James’s stop.

7.2 Such a significant project will inevitably create traffic management issues both during the construction phase and ongoing into the future. However this could be an opportunity to develop new sustainable traffic solutions for the campus and surrounding areas.

The Dublin bike scheme has been an outstanding success and a welcome addition to the local area. The developers of this project should consider making a contribution to locating an additional station within the campus and providing more bikes at the existing stations, to encourage staff to use sustainable forms of transport.

The existing through roads in the St James’s campus are not particularly cycle friendly and the developers should upgrade the roads within the campus to provide a safe cycle path in the campus. Currently the only bike parking for visitors in St James’s doesn’t allow for secure locking of a bike and these should be upgraded to encourage visitors to cycle to the hospital rather than drive. Providing more bikes and bike stations in the hospital grounds, James Street, South Circular road and surrounding areas would encourage hospital staff and patients to switch from car to bike.

7.3 Surrounding areas parking solutions
While there will be considerable parking facilities within the hospital, there will be an overspill into the surrounding areas. Residents in these areas should be encouraged to develop new parking solutions, facilitated by Dublin City Council and the developers. An example of this would be for the developer to pay for a barrier to be erected which allows for residents cars only to access Ceannt Fort, as the design of the estate doesn’t allow for permit parking or emergency access with a high volume of cars which free parking will bring. Ceannt Fort should be treated as a special case in this regard.

Residents in the surrounding areas with no off street parking, should be encouraged apply a parking permits system where they do not have access to off street parking.

7.4
The developer should work with DCC to create as traffic management plan for the wider area to ensure flow of traffic to the hospital campus. Currently there are two main entrances at the James’s st and the Rialto gate. Currently SCR from the Rialto Gate to Kilmainham is gridlocked during rush hour so efforts should be made to divert people away from using SCR if they want to go to the hospital campus. The new hospital entrance from Mount Brown will cause disruption to residents during the construction phase, as well as post construction with additional traffic on what is a narrow road, which bottlenecks at the junction with SCR during rush hour traffic.

8. Community services improvements
While acknowledging the many issues that may arise for the community both during the construction and the ongoing there will also important benefits arising from the project. The infrastructural improvements on the road and transport systems will benefit the local community. I welcome the commitment by hospital authorities to engage with local providers in giving members of the local community access to employment within the campus. With the additional opening up of the campus I would hope that local businesses will also benefit in the future for the creation of a medical centre of excellence on their door step.

9. Open Space/Green Space and Permeability of the Campus
Currently the St James’s campus is a stand-alone facility with little or no benefits accruing from the campus to the wider area. The opening up of an entrance along the Luas line with the MISA building, and the proposed new entrance to the NCH at the Rialto stop is welcome in opening up the campus to the surrounding areas. The upgrading of the Liner park proposed in the application is also welcome. as is the creation of the Meadow Garden as part of the project. However, there is no playground in the surrounding areas of SCR, Kilmainham and Rialto for children so I would propose that the Meadow Garden or Liner park contain play facilities, agreed with the planning authority, for children in the locality to access.

The new improved access points from the steps from Mount Brown to the new access road is welcome, however a condition should be attached to this to ensure that it is well lit during the evenings to ensure the safety of people using this entrance.