Road closure and diversions around Swords Castle from July 1st

People living in and visiting the Swords town centre over the last few months will have seen work underway around the Swords Castle area as preparations began for the construction of the Swords Cultural Quarter (SCQ).

With a substantial amount of work now to be undertaken on the multi-million Euro project, Fingal County Council has announced that following a consultation, a two-year traffic management plan will be put in place from Monday 1st of July 2024 to help accommodate the delivery of the new community and civic facilities.

The traffic plan will mean the section of Seatown Road between North Street and St Columcille’s Drive will be closed to all traffic, which includes access for all vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists.

Alongside this, traffic calming measures will be implemented, with on street parking along St Columcille’s Drive and parts of Chapel Lane being removed, speed ramps being installed and an improved school safety zone on Seatown Road.

Further details on the alternative routes for traffic travelling in the area during the temporary closure can be found on the Fingal website: fingal.ie/RoadClosures

The SCQ will encompass a 3.89 acre area around the junction of North Street, Seatown Road, Bridge Street and Main Street. This will include Swords Castle, County Hall, Swords Courthouse and the recently refurbished Carnegie Library. It is one of 16 projects contained in the Council’s Sustainable Swords Strategy which is a detailed plan to rejuvenate the centre of Fingal’s county town. Alongside this, 36 new homes will be built on Seatown Road, with a further 13 homes to be constructed on North Street.

Owing to the extensive scale of the SCQ project, the temporary road closures and diversions that will be introduced in July will impact traffic that would normally use Seatown Road, St Columcille’s Drive and North Street. The period of the proposed temporary road closure is from 8.00am on 1st July 2024 to 5.00pm on 30th June 2026.

Once completed, the new Civic and Cultural Centre in Swords will include a new 3,000m2 County Library, an art gallery and exhibition space, a café, a civic area, studios and rehearsal rooms, and a Black Box theatre which can cater for audiences of between 165 and 360 depending on the type of event being staged.

Fingal County Council regrets any inconvenience caused whilst construction is underway.