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[Press Release: November 21st, 2004] GREENS CALL FOR COUNCIL-RUN MULTI-STOREY CAR PARK AT FLORENTINE CENTREFollowing the recent stop in all activity at the Florentine Centre site in Bray, and the announcement by its developers that they intend to submit a new planning application for a larger-scale development at the site, Green Party councillors on Bray Town Council have called for a council-run multi-story car park to be developed at this town centre location."It is time that Bray Town Council stopped handing over valuable assets in the town to private developers who will make large profits from them" says Green Party councillor, Deirdre de Burca. She claims that Bray Town Council originally owned a significant part of the site of the old municipal car park that is now the Florentine Centre site and that this land was handed over at a nominal sum to a Ballymore Properties company, Shurville Properties, for the purpose of developing town- centre car-parking. "Over the past ten years Ballymore Properties has submitted a number of successful planning applications for a shopping centre, private apartments and a multi-storey car-park on the site" says de Burca. "These numerous planning applications have not been in the interests of the people of Bray because they have caused serious delays in the delivery of town-centre parking". De Burca's Green Party colleague, Ciaran O'Brien claims that ongoing problems concerning the Florentine site have included breaches of planning conditions including unauthorised destruction of a protected structure, a breach of a lease agreement with Bray Town Council to have the development completed within a specified period of time, significant damage to the businesses of local traders and unacceptable disturbance to residents of the area due to noise, dust and working outside permitted hours. At a recent meeting to Bray Town Council where the Developers of the Florentine Centre made a presentation about the most recent proposed changes to their plan, Green Party Councillors expressed their concerns about the problems listed above. "At present approx 2 million euros is owing to Bray Town Council by the Developers as a result of these planning breaches" says Cllr O'Brien." We are proposing that the Florentine Centre site should now be developed in its entirety as a council-run multi-storey car park for the people of Bray. This will provide badly-needed parking spaces for the town and will generate a revenue for the council of over 1 million euros per year, on the basis of an estimated 600 car-parking spaces. This money is badly needed for other improvments in the town". Green Party councillor Caroline Burrell supports her collleagues proposals concerning the Florentine Centre. She claims that if a shopping centre and private apartments are built on the site, the Green Party will insist that the multi-storey car-parking element of the development be owned by Bray Town Council. "The Council must be more pro-active in looking after the interests of the people of the town, rather than facilitating the business interests of wealthy companies like Ballymore Homes" she says.
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