31/01/2005

Archived item. This item is published here for historical reasons. The information below may be out of date.

Mayor Robert Dowds  will attend the official stone laying ceremony to commemorate the commencement of construction at Adamstown, Irelands first Strategic Development Zone on 7th February 2005 at 2pm.  The ceremony will be attended by An Taoiseach, Mr Bertie Ahern, T.D.

Adamstown Strategic Development Zone Planning Scheme

South Dublin County Council

• The Adamstown Strategic Development Zone was the first and is the largest (220 hectares/550 acres) SDZ approved in the State and was prepared in-house by South Dublin County Council;

• South Dublin County Council planned in advance development that will facilitate the creation of a sustainable community of more than 10,000 homes (including 1,500 social and affordable units), to be phased over 10 + years;

• South Dublin County Council identified the infrastructure and facilities required to serve the new community, including a new railway station, 4 new schools, 4 major parks, 2 QBC busways, more than 20km of new main roads as well as civic, community, shopping, employment and leisure uses (125,000 sq.m. of additional non-housing development);

• South Dublin County Council carefully phased the provision of facilities and infrastructure to ensure that at different stages (13 phases), the completion of key items such as the railway station, schools, parks, shops and roads must occur in tandem with housing development;

• The elected members of South Dublin County Council and An Bord Pleanala approved what can be built and where, what supporting infrastructure and facilities must be provided and in what sequence (2003).  There can be no further appeal against development in Adamstown;

• South Dublin County Council ‘front loaded’ the phasing of infrastructure to secure private sector commitment as Adamstown develops.  The landowner response has been positive and the three main parties  have formed a joint consortium (‘Chartridge Ltd.’) to co-ordinate the delivery of infrastructure for Adamstown;

• In return for the early delivery of facilities and infrastructure and overall design quality, the Adamstown SDZ enables South Dublin County Council to offer the landowners planning certainty over a 10-15 year build-out and to facilitate flexibility in dwelling type to account for changing market conditions over the period;

• South Dublin County Council established a Project Steering Group (2003) that includes all local Councillors, representatives of key state and local service providers as well as senior Council staff to monitor the development of Adamstown;

• South Dublin County Council set up a Project Team (2004) to manage and oversee implementation of the Adamstown Plan.  The work of the Project Team includes liasing with the landowners and service providers engaging with the local community and progressing initiatives such as the Adamstown website http://www.adamstown.ie/

• The Adamstown SDZ has ensured that the public sector at state and local level, the private sector and the community have worked together, in varying degrees of partnership, from the beginning;

• Adamstown demonstrates an alternative to piecemeal site-by-site development which would have made it difficult to plan the provision a railway station, roads, schools, parks, shops etc. where and when required and would almost certainly have been more costly to future residents in terms of quality of life, as well as to the taxpayer;

• The up-front planning process has meant that when the first planning application for 400 + houses was submitted to South Dublin County Council in 2004 the final grant of planning permission was issued within three months and construction work commenced on site shortly thereafter.

• There are current planning applications for a new railway station with five platforms including a ‘turn-back’ facility, a 300 space park and ride car park, bus terminus and taxi waiting areas and for a 2km link road with a dedicated bus corridor into Adamstown.  Both are due to be determined by South Dublin County Council before the end of February 2005;

• The experience fo South Dublin County Council has been that the initial up-front short-term investment (2 years) in a workable plan for a significant and complex undertaking has provided ‘buy-in’ and certainty for all, over a long-term 10-15 year build-out.

• In conclusion, South Dublin County Council is proud of its achievement in delivering the first Strategic Development Zone in the State and as Development Agency, will continue to oversee implementation of the SDZ process and the development of Adamstown as a sustainable community;

Information concerning the Adamstown SDZ is available on our website http://www.adamstown.ie/   or by contacting Paul Hogan , Adamstown SDZ Project Manager, South Dublin County Council , 01 414 9000, phogan@sdublincoco.ie