A LANDMARK planning scheme to regenerate Dublin’s Docklands and bring new communities and businesses to the area has won top prize at this year’s National Planning Awards.
The North Lotts and Grand Canal Dock Planning Scheme by planners at Dublin City Council is the biggest urban redevelopment and regeneration project in the history of the State and it’s now seeing multiple planning permissions being granted across the area.
The Docklands masterplan was approved by An Bord Pleanála and will provide for 2,600 residential units and up to 360,000 sq mts of office space.
There will also be retail, community and public amenity facilities that will create an estimated 23,000 jobs.
The award winners were announced at the recent Irish Planning Institute (IPI) National Planning Awards.
IPI President Deirdre Fallon said the winning entry represented the challenges Ireland has faced in its economic crash, and shows how best to overcome development and regeneration challenges.
“Following the wind up of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) in 2012 this was the biggest stalled urban redevelopment and regeneration project in the history of the State,” she said.
“Against massive challenges a multi-disciplinary Dublin City Council Team delivered. Over 60 per cent of the plan area is now benefitting from permissions granted, giving a sustainable vision to this major part of the city.
“There has been a lot of criticism of planning in Ireland, however the entrants at this year’s Irish Planning Awards shows highly positive planning which contributes to quality of life for both urban and rural citizens, and these examples can positively influence all practice across Ireland.”
Fingal County Council were also winners at the ceremony, picking up the President’s Choice Award for the training in planning and mapping skills it has provided to planners in the African Kingdom of Lesotho.
For the past three years the council has been working to upskill local Lesotho planners in the use of planning practice and cutting edge information and mapping systems, with a particular focus on climate change.
Fallon said the project has involved formal training of all urban planners in Lesotho and has also mapped the whole country using the latest GIS planning systems.
The IPI itself has also taken part in the project by helping to establish a new national planning Institute in Lesotho.
“This is unique initiative spearheaded by Fingal County Council supporting the work of the Action Ireland Trust charity in Lesotho which could be replicated in different countries by local authorities throughout Ireland,” Fallon said.
“It acknowledges and supports the importance of a properly functioning planning profession and system within a developing country.”