Kerb Stone Granite

Question to City Manager – City Council Meeting 01/02/2010

Q4. COUNCILLOR BILL TORMEY

An Taisce and Dublin City Association have lobbied to get historic Dublin or Wicklow granite kerbing for the east side of Temple Lane Dublin 2 from Cecelia Street to the Temple Bar pub to replace the Chinese white granite which has recently been used on the basis that this will better preserve and enhance the character of the street and area. This would better accord with the stricture in the 2005 – 2011 Dublin City Development Plan which lists paved areas and streets with Granite kerbing “to be retained and restored and included in the City Council’s programme for Restoration. The Engineering Department has maintained that there is no more Wicklow or Dublin yellow granite in Marrowbone Lane or Glasnevin to use for this purpose. Where has the historic granite removed from O’Connell Street, St Stephens Green, Luas works at Harcourt St, Chancery St, Abbey St, Talbot St, Grattan Bridge gone? Is it possible to get historic Dublin granite for Temple Lane?

CITY MANAGER’S REPLY:

It is Dublin City Council policy for Road Construction Division who carried out all the new major reconstruction projects i.e. O’Connell Street etc. and other utilities to return any antique granite as a result of excavation works to our depot in Marrowbone Lane. Any routine maintenance works that take place that may require antique granite are drawn from this stock.

It should be noted that when antique granite pavements are dug up and reused there will be a percentage of the granite which will fracture and some edges have to be remade. This will result in losses. Therefore over time the stocks of antique granite will diminish.

There is not enough antique granite in our stocks in Marrowbone Lane to reconstruct the footpath on the east side of Temple Lane South between Cecelia St and Temple Bar.

We are not aware of any antique Dublin granite other than that on our street network that we could use. It is not our policy to remove antique granite paving from any street during routine maintenance operations. It has been our experience that the general public do not wish to have granite removed from one street (no matter how small a quantity is involved) and saved for reuse elsewhere.

Contact: Martin Jordan, Senior Executive Engineer, Roads Maintenance
Tel: 222 2568