The controversial Goatstown Playground was given the green light this week as the council confirmed there are more people in favour of the plans than against.
Out of 158 valid submissions received by the council on the playground plans, 71 houses were against and 87 houses were for the playground on Taney Green.
The playground has proved divisive in the last year as those in favour believe it will be great for local children, but those against say it will attract anti-social behaviour.
However, the council has officially confirmed that more households are in fact in favour of the playground.
A consultation was carried out initially in March and April this year and leaflets were distributed to all the homes on Taney Court, Rise, Crescent, Avenue, Grove and Farmhill Park.
Two petitions were also received by the council, one from those who want a playground and another from those against, as well as other individual submissions.
The council, in analysing the submissions, only considered one submission per household – if there were two or more signatures from one household, this was considered one submission.
This resulted in 158 valid submissions with 87 for and 71 against. Forty households signed both and therefore had to be excluded. Submissions from outside of the consultation area were excluded from the final count.
A spokesperson from the council’s parks department told The Gazette: “Given that there is a majority in favour, the council now wish to proceed to provide the playground or play area, and to this end we have met with representatives of both sides.
“As can be seen from the outcome of the consultation, there is a majority in favour of the playground in Taney and as a result we propose to proceed to tender for the traditional playground that we consulted on widely in March/April of this year.”
Cllr Karen Furlong (GP) welcomed the news. “Delighted to see this rather forlorn field where I spent my childhood finally getting a playground. We’ve lots of new families in the area and I’m looking forward to getting to know you all as we watch our little ones having fun.
“Well done to Roebuck residents, Taney residents and all those in the area who campaigned so strongly.
“Looking forward to seeing kids from Taney, Rosemount-Taney Community Campaign, Larchfield, Mount Carmel, and Dundrum all getting to know each other and making friends … thanks to all the local ward councillors for your support over the last year and also to Catherine Martin TD.”
