PUBLIC CONSULTATION
Design and Environmental Evaluation Consultations
The project team will contact stakeholders, including landowners directly affected by the project and Statutory Undertakers once the designs are sufficiently developed to understand their implications better. These consultations aim to understand stakeholders' needs and concerns and to develop design solutions that minimise disturbance to stakeholders where possible, particularly in the design of access arrangements and accommodation works.
Landowners may also be contacted in the interim to facilitate field access for survey and investigation works.
Options Study Non-Statutory Public Consultations
The preferred options were identified after an Option Study, a three-stage process described in the TII Project Management Guidelines.
The Options Study began with a Constraints Study. The study involved input from a broad team of specialists to give a thorough understanding of the site.
The Preliminary Options were plotted and developed cognisant of the Constraints Study findings. This initial longlist of preliminary options was reduced to a shortlist during the Preliminary Assessment of Options (stage 1). The shortlist typically included three do-something options and one do-nothing or do-minimum option at each problem site.
The mapping from the Constraints Study and the preliminary options progressing to stage 2 of the Options Study process were presented at the first in-person non-statutory public consultation event hosted by Wicklow County Council on 27th March 2024 in Baltinglass and was made available online on the project website. Attendees and those who viewed the drawings online were invited to provide feedback to the project team, particularly on the constraints study and the preliminary options. Publications made available during the first public consultation are available in the Publications tab.
The stage 2 options were further developed taking into account feedback from the first public consultation. These options were subject to a detailed appraisal under the following criteria to identify the emerging preferred options.
The emerging preferred options identified after the stage 2 detailed appraisal were presented at the second in-person, non-statutory public consultation on 30th January 2025. This second public consultation followed the same format as the first, with members of the public invited to provide feedback on the emerging preferred options. Publications made available during the second public consultation are available in the Publications tab.
The preferred options were confirmed (Stage 3) following a review of the feedback from the second public consultation. This concluded the Options Study three-step process.
