Letter from DLR Co Co on Concerts

Please see below for a letter from the promoters and DLR Co Co on the concerts. Not mentioned but also relevant is that the lane from Grange Road to Grange Court will be closed off completely during exit times on the concerts. Local residents, please use the main entrance into the estate.

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This letter has been put together by An Garda Síochána, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and Festival Republic on behalf of MCD Productions. We would like to keep you informed and up to date on the events taking place in Marlay Park this summer.

The current schedule is as follows:

Friday 8th July (Gates 3.30 pm) – Kodaline/Jess Glynne/Walking on Cars

Saturday 9th July (Gates 4.30pm) – Stone Roses/Rodrigo y Gabriela/SOAK

Friday 15th – Sunday 17 th July (Gates 1.30pm) – Longitude Festival

The events finish at 23.00hrs on each day. Pyrotechnics will be in use during the Kodaline performance on 8th July and during the headliner performance on 16th July. It is intended that the Local Authority, Event Staff and An Garda Síochána keep in close communication with residents to ensure inconvenience and disruption is kept to an

To deter non-residential parking on concert days, parking permits have been issued to all residents in the surrounding area. Three permits have been issued per household. Please contact the Council at 01-2054714 if any resident in your area has not received their permits by the end of June.

TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT PLAN

Directional signage will be erected on local approach to the concerts and selected roads to the concert site. A recommended route for patrons travelling to and from the event will be advertised nationally. Importance will be placed on maximising the relevant junctions on Marathon Coaches will run a shuttle bus service from Georges Quay in the city centre to the event. It shall commence at 3pm on the 8 th and 9 th July and at 12pm on the 15 th , 16 th and 17 th July. Marathon Coaches shall be located in the College Road car park. In an effort to keep disruption to the minimum on public roads adjacent to Marlay Park, all private buses are licenced to park in the College Road car park.

A number of road closures shall be put in place at the end of each event to safeguard the large volume of pedestrians expected to exit onto the Grange Road.  The following is the estimated time at which the road closures shall commence, if there is a large volume of pedestrian traffic prior to this it may be necessary to close the roads slightly earlier, as in

 Grange Road from the junction with Taylor’s Lane to the junction of Ballinteer Avenue and Brehon Field Road shall close to all vehicular traffic at 10.30pm. Traffic will NOT be allowed to exit any estate or the Lidl car park.

 Access to Grange Road from its junction with Brehon Field Road to the junction with Harold’s Grange Road will be restricted.

 Access to La Touche Court/Pine Valley & Estate will be maintained where possible.

 College Road from the junction with the Whitechurch Road to the junction with the Grange Road shall close to traffic at 10.30pm to allow for vehicles to exit the College

 Stonemasons Way from the junction with the Grange Road to the junction with Broadford Road shall close to vehicular traffic at 10.30pm

 Access to Stonemasons Way from its junction with Barton Road East towards Broadford Road will be restricted.

 Taylor’s Lane from the junction with the Whitechurch Road to the junction with the Grange Road shall close at 10pm. Traffic shall be permitted to drive down Taylor’s Lane only towards Whitechurch Road in a contra flow system.

Please note that during these road closures access will be maintained at all times for emergency vehicles.

These road closures shall be removed as soon as the Gardaí deem appropriate to do so with public safety taken into account.

PARK AND CAR PARK OPENING/CLOSING TIMES

Marlay Park will remain open to all visitors as normal except on concert days (see above list). The concert layout and build schedule is similar to 2015. This layout aims to maximise the availability of the park to other park users, minimise disruption and make available the amenity space in front of Marlay House and around the Café.

On concert days a circulation route around the park will be maintained until 12noon.

Following this, access will be restricted until the park closes at 6pm or earlier should An Garda Síochána consider that this is necessary.

The Grange Road carpark will have reduced access from 2 nd July to the 22 nd July. On concert days it will be completely closed. The car park at College Road will remain open at usual times but will be closed from 12pm on concert days and can only be used by concert traffic.

LITTER

There will be designated litter teams allocated to the residential areas surrounding Marlay Park. These teams will be litter picking throughout the duration of the concerts and will be available to respond to any waste generated by event attendees. Please report any litter issues to the residents hotline at 01 4375779.

NOISE LEVELS

In accordance with the licence issued under the Planning & Development Act 2000, the noise level limit for the concerts is 72dba. Both the HSE and MCD will monitor noise levels through daytime sound checks and the evening concerts.

SAFETY AND SECURITY

Entry to the event is by ticket only, and the event site will be securely fenced off. Following consultation with residents associations a robust plan has been developed to ensure that the site and surrounding residential areas are kept safe and secure. There will be enhanced policing of residential areas around Marlay Park as well as comprehensive stewarding and sign posting to direct attendees to and from the event. An Garda Síochána and event stewards will work together to prevent anti-social behaviour and illegal parking within the estates. A mobile event security team, organised by the Promoter, will also be in place. Any issues in relation to security can be reported through the residents’ hotline number 01 4375779.

ANTI SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

The Council are aware, that with any large gathering, there will always be an element of anti social behaviour. An Garda Síochána are well versed in this regard and are aware of the expected element. However if you experience anti-social behaviour in your area on concert days, you can contact us on any of the numbers below:

CONTACT INFORMATION

 On Non Concert Days – Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Council, Marlay Park Concert hotline at 01-2054714, during office hours (Mon – Friday 9am to 4.30pm).

 On Concert Days dedicated Residents Hotline number is available as a facility for residents to call in with any concerns or observations. Calls to the hotline number will go directly to the event control facility on site, and will be answered by event staff. The facility will be operational on concert days from 11:00hrs to 00:30hrs and the number is 01 4375779.

 Concert queries, email: marlayparkconcerts@dlrcoco.ie

 The Gardaí at Rathfarnham Garda Station (01-6666500)

As outlined at the start of this letter, it is our intention to minimise disruption and inconvenience to the residents surrounding Marlay Park and we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued assistance and support during these concerts over the last ten years.

The income generated from these concerts has contributed towards vast improvements in Marlay Park, namely playgrounds, hospitality facilities, sports facilities and some of the other events held (e.g. Samhain and Movies in the Park).

Should you have any queries regarding any aspect of the concerts please do not hesitate to contact the dedicated Marlay Park Concert hotline numbers listed above.

Thank you for your co-operation.

AN GARDA SÍOCHÁNA

DÚN LAOGHAIRE RATHDOWN COUNTY COUNCIL

FESTIVAL REPUBLIC on behalf of MCD PRODUCTIONS

 

Marley Park Concert Update

We received formal notification today that the licence to hold the concerts has been approved for 8th of July, 9th of July and the Longitude Festival 15th – 17th.

The conditions to the planning are available here: concert_planning_approval

As per previous years, we will also be engaging the relevant parties to ensure there is minimum disruption to the estate. The residents association will continue to engage with the relevant parties with a view to having a clear strategy for emergency access to the estate in either the event management or traffic plan.

On the concerns that were raised by MGRA in relation to emergency access to the estate during the exits of the concerts,
the following statement has been clarified in the Traffic Management Plan. “Emergency Services” covers the normal ones and should the ESB or Gas Networks Ireland need to enter they will also be accommodated.

Access for Emergency Services to all areas will be maintained during the periods of Road Closures. In the event that an emergency occurs an escort team, consisting of trained Garda Motorcyclists, will be detailed to complete this escort. This is a facility that would not be available on a normal basis and will result in a more timely response for access and egress to Emergency Services personnel and vehicles.

Also stated is that as per previous years all non-emergency access requests during the road closures will be evaluated on a case by case basis and facilitated if possible, with public safety in mind.

The line up for the concerts is as follows:

Friday 8th of June  – Kodaline, Walking on Cars 16:30

Saturday 9th of June – The Stone Roses, Soak, Rodrigo y Gabriela opening  17:30

Longitude Festival  – Friday 15th (Kendrick Lamar), Saturday 16th (Major Lazer), Sunday 17th (The National)

Long 2

 

Concert Update – April

There are 5 concert days this year – 8th, 9th July and Longitude weekend (15th/16th/17th July)
The committee recognises that there are varied opinions among members with regard to the holding of concerts in Marlay Park. The committee fully respects the right of any resident to object to the events. In representing the totality of all member residents, the committee believes that the most effective course of action is to lobby to minimise any disruption from the events and to follow the mandate of the majority of participants at the AGM.

Many improvements took place for the 2015 concerts, though there still are some concerns particularly with regard to access to the estate at the end of the concerts, noise levels and anti-social behaviour. The AGM has mandated the incoming committee to continue the policy of constructive engagement with the council, but also requested the committee to find all means necessary to improve access to the estate for emergency services and residents during the road closures.

Unfortunately, at this point the committee have not been able to make progress with DLR CoCo on any alternative access into the estates during road closure at the end of the concerts. While the road closures enforced by the Gardai last year were restricted to one hour, it is a concern that there is no detailed plan for emergency access to our estate during that time. We have therefore formally lodged a submission to the event licencing process stating that

• the draft traffic management plan is not explicit enough about emergency access /egress from the estate during road closures
• unless the organisers deal with this specific issue, no licence should be granted for the events.

Planning Application for 2016 Marlay Park Concerts

The concerts planning application was received on Wednesday, 23rd March 2016 in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council for the holding of a music event to be held in Marlay Park, Grange Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16.

The application is for a proposed series of concerts to be held on:

  • Friday 8th July 2016
  • Saturday 9th July 2016
  • Friday 15th July 2016
  • Saturday 16th July 2016
  • Sunday 17th July 2016

Any public submission or observation must be made by 13th of April 2016.

To make a submission, please go to here: http://bit.ly/marlay2016

 

 

 

Marlay Park Concerts 2016

Following numerous representations and submissions to the Council regarding the Marlay Park Concert Programme, an agreement has been reached between MCD Productions and the County Council for the programme for the next five years. The previous contract allowed for a maximum number of concerts of 9 per annum , up to an audience capacity of 250,000 people. The new contract now provides for a maximum number of 6 per annum , with a maximum audience capacity of 210,000 people.A consultation process with resident associations will be undertaken in January. This is the maximum number and it may be there are less concerts each year.

In 2016 the following concerts have been announced so far as going ahead in Marlay Park subject to planning permission.

Kodaline: Friday 8th July

Stone Roses: Saturday 9th July

 

Longitude: Friday 15th July to Sunday 17th July

KENDRICK LAMAR * MAJOR LAZER * THE NATIONAL
JAMIE XX * FATHER JOHN MISTY * CHVRCHES
TYLER, THE CREATOR * RÓISÍN MURPHY
ACTION BRONSON * COURTNEY BARNETT * A$AP FERG * MØ
ALL TVVINS * REJJIE SNOW * OTHERKIN
PLEASURE BEACH * SAINT SISTER

Marley Grange Residents Association will continue to work with DLR Co Co to minimise disruption to the estate during the concerts and will provide more updates in due course.

 

Halloween Party in Marlay Grange House

As mentioned in a previous post there is a charity Fundraising Event at Marlay Grange house on the Grange Road on October 31st. The event is not organised nor has any association with the Marley Grange Residence Association or housing estate. It is the intention of Marlay Grange house owner and the event management team to adhere as best they can to the agreements with MGRA described in that previous post with respect to noise levels and timing. There is independent parking for the event and an audio engineer logging sound levels at different positions at regular intervals to ensure the sound is within the agreed guidelines.

There are licensed fireworks at 20:45 and there are no other fireworks at the event. As the event is on Halloween night, there may be other fireworks and local parties including at Eden House which are not be related to the event. However if there a direct problem with the event on the night and you wish to contact the event staff, the number to ring is 083 808 2441.

 

Marlay Grange House – Charity Event

A fund raising event in aid of the Barnardos charity was held in Marlay Grange House on November 1st 2014. This event caused considerable noise disturbance and nuisance in surrounding areas and resulted in a deluge of complaints to Rathfarnham and Dundrum Garda stations. One of the residential estates nearby is Marley Grange Estate. Subsequent to the November 1st event, representatives of Marley Grange Residents Association (MGRA) met the owner of Marlay Grange House to discuss concerns regarding the event and in particular to ascertain what plans exist for future such events. The owner accepted that problems had arisen with the running of the 2014 event and explained that he wished to run an event on 31st October 2015, but that he did not wish to cause disruption and nuisance to local residents.

On foot of the discussions the owner and his event management company (Boggler Productions) have agreed to make a number of changes to limit the disturbance to local residents.

Ideally, MGRA would prefer for no event to take place in Marlay Grange House. It is nigh impossible to run an event of this nature with no impact on local residents, and given that local residents already have the nuisance factor of

• Marlay Park concerts
• Other social and community events in Marlay Park
• Sporting events in Three Rock Rovers Hockey club

It is easy to understand the lack of enthusiasm for yet another disruptive event to be added to the calendar. However MGRA do recognise that there is no legal framework to object to the holding of an event on private property. Furthermore MGRA do accept that the aim of raising funds for a deserving charity is a laudable one and would not wish to interfere with such an activity.

This document linked here represents the voluntary code of practice agreed by the owner and Boggler Productions. While this statement of agreement is primarily between MGRA and the owner of Marlay Grange House, MGRA have no difficulty with it being used as a template for further agreements with other residents associations, the relevant local authorities and An Garda Siochana. It must be stressed that MGRA are not endorsing or giving approval to any event, either on behalf of its own members or on behalf of any other neighbouring areas. MGRA are merely being pragmatic and accepting the inevitability of an event proceeding and seeking to minimise disruption on its members.

Noise level
The largest number of complaints arose from the excessively loud music which continued until the early hours of the morning. It is noted that the event planned for 2015 will take place at Halloween and that a lot of other noise sources such as parties and fireworks will exist on that night. Nonetheless, to minimise disruption to local residents Boggler Productions have committed to:
• Pointing of loudspeakers away from local estates, rather than parallel to or towards Grange Road.
• Use of directional loudspeaker technology to focus music sound towards the participating audience.
• Agreed start and finish times to limit the duration of any noise nuisance, and particularly a strict cut off time of 12 midnight for the end of the loud music. After midnight the event will move to a normal DJ style setup with smaller speakers and sound which should not be audible in adjacent estates. (Note, it is understood that the Eden Pub will run a Halloween night party on the same night as the planned event which will probably also end around midnight).
• A maximum instantaneous volume levels of 72dB (unweighted) which must not be exceeded.
• Measurement process for amplitude levels at the gates to Marlay Grange House, with feedback mechanism to allow for volume reduction in the case of any problem. This should be a more pragmatic approach than measurement in local estates as is done during the Marlay Park concerts but will still allow for minimising any noise nuisance.

Complaints process
The overload of complaints to the Gardai on the night not only reflected the level of annoyance generated by the 2014 event, but also risked a serious communications problem if any other police emergencies had arisen that night in the Rathfarnham / Dundrum areas. (The 112/999 emergency numbers were not affected). Boggler Productions have committed to providing a dedicated complaint line which is 083 8082441 where a member of the event staff will answer the call on the night of the concert. In addition a separate private hotline number will be provided to allow local authority / Garda have guaranteed access to the event management company on the night.

Car parking
Some impact on local residents arose from cars being parked in local estates. It is noted that efforts did take place in 2014 to mitigate this, in particular there were security people asking attendees not to park in Eden estate, though this can have a knock on effect of moving parking up to the next estate. It is also noted that any car driver is entitled to park a car in a public place provided it is done in compliance with the rules of the road.
Ideally participants at such events should consider taking public transport or taxis. If parking is taking place in local estates the participants should be reminded to be considerate to local residents and in particular to ensure that they do not park illegally (obstructing entrances, at corners etc.). To try and further mitigate the problem, Boggler Productions will investigate if parking can be made available in one of the sporting clubs nearby on a pay per park basis.

Conclusion
MGRA have no role or authority to approve or endorse any event held on private property. Ideally MGRA would prefer if no event takes place which results in noise or other nuisance for local residence. However, MGRA recognise that the owner of Marlay Grange House and Boggler Productions have voluntarily agreed to implement a number of key steps to limit the impact on local residents for the planned 2015 event. MGRA would ideally like to see this approach be formalised by the event organisers engaging with South Dublin County Council and An Garda Siochana. MGRA would be happy for this document to be used as a template or start point for formal agreement. Furthermore MGRA are willing to offer their web site as a vehicle to disseminate any agreed terms and conditions surrounding the event if this is helpful to all parties.

Contact Information for Concerts

The following contact numbers have been given to us around the concerts. If there are any concerns on the days of the concert please contact the Residents Hotline 014375750 from 11am to 00:30am.
Gardai numbers are also provided below.

  • On Non Concert Days – Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Council, Marlay Park Concert hotline at 01-2054714, during office hours (Mon – Friday 9am – 4.30pm).
  • On Concert Days,  the dedicated Residents Hotline number is available as a facility for residents to call in with any concerns or observations.
    Calls to the hotline number will go directly to the event control facility on site, and will be answered by event staff. The facility will be operational on concert days from 11:00hrs to 00:30hrs
    The number is 014375750
  • The Gardaí at Rathfarnham Garda Station (01-6666500)
  • The community Gardaí at 01-6666520

If there are any issues that arise on the day in relation to Marley Grange housing estate, we would appreciate if you could also let us know at info@marleygrange.ie

Marlay Park Concert Update

Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council (DLRCOCO) have informed us that they have granted a licence to Festival Republic on behalf of MCD Productions to hold two standalone concerts on 3rd and 4th  July and the Longitude Festival on the 17th, 18th and 19th July.

In the coming days the concert organisers / council / Gardai will do a leaflet drop to brief all residents on the arrangements for the concerts. This will cover
·         Concert schedule
·         Traffic management plan
·         Road closures
·         Park opening times
·         Litter
·         Noise levels
·         Safety and security
·         Anti social behaviour
·         Contact details and hotline numbers
The most significant new information for Marley Grange is the arrangements for road closures. For safety reasons the Gardai will again close roads in the area, most notably: “Grange Road from the junction with Taylor’s Lane to the junction of Ballinteer Avenue and Brehon Field Road shall close to all vehicular traffic at 10.30pm.  Traffic will NOT be allowed to exit any estate or the Lidl car park. These road closures shall be removed as soon as the Gardai deem it safe to do so.”
Unfortunately the arrangement which was in place for alternative access to the estate during this period (as outlined in the last newsletter) has had to be rescinded due to some local objections. This will inevitably lead to some disruption for a small number of residents who need to enter or exit the estate while the roads are closed by the Gardai. We will continue to liaise with all parties to see if any improvements can be made to the situation, but our current best advice is that residents should try and arrange to minimise late night travel on the nights of the concerts and / or plan their journeys to avoid the road closure times. At our request the traffic plan does explicitly state: “Please note that during these road closures access will be allowed for emergency vehicles.”
Please check the web site regularly for further information and updates as they become available.

Marlay Park Concerts Planning Application

On foot of the mandate given by the AGM, the committee have had very productive engagement with Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and Festival Republic (the event management company) regarding this year’s concert programme. The committee are satisfied that the concerns of the residents have been listened to, and a significant number of changes will be made in 2015 to minimise the disruption caused by the events.

The main highlights of improvements this year are:

  • Changed orientation of stage to reduce noise nuisance to our estate
  • Improved access to the park for usage outside of concert days
  • Alternative access to the estate when the Grange Road is closed at the end of concerts.
  • A Comprehensive traffic management plan to divert traffic away from housing estates.
  • Increased number of stewards around Marley Grange to limit access and improve clean-up.
  • Reduction in number of concerts this year and a longer break between standalone and Longitude

While the committee believes that these improvements address many of the concerns of our residents, more information on the planning application may be found here: bit.ly/marlayconcerts2015

Individuals who wish who make a submission on the planning application should do so by the 20th of May and do so by:

  • writing to the Planning Department, Dun Laoghiare Rathdown County Council, Marine Road, Dun Laoghiare, Co Dublin.
  • By email to planning@dlrcoco.ie
  • Councils online consultation hub at bit.ly/portaldir