The Master Plan also identified a number of issues and these issues remain and if anything have become more acute since 1997.

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1 Ringsend AAP Introduction Dublin Docklands Area Master Plan (the Master Plan) identified a number, of areas within Docklands where more detailed planning would be appopriate. One of those areas is the Ringsend/Irishtown "village" centre and another is the section of the River Dodder as it flows through Docklands. These two areas are combined into this one study and are shown outlined on Map No. 1 and although the study concentrates on the two areas, the opportunity has been taken to look at a wider area of Ringsend/Irishtown. The "village" centre has a very clear identity and contains a range of retail, workshop, storage, community facilities, and residential uses. It also contains a number of interesting buildings, in particular the imposing Churches of St Patricks and St Marks and the public library, as well as good quality domestic architecture both old and new. The brightly painted retail buildings on both Bridge Street and Thorncastle Street have a picturesque townscape quality and the area around St Marks is particularly attractive. Pavements range in condition from poor to good and there is some unsightly wirescape which detracts from the "village". Dublin Corporation have carded out a number of civic improvements in the form of tree planting in various locations. Objective The main objective of the Study is to set out proposals for the enhancement of the Ringsend/Irishtown village centre as the centre for social and shopping activities for local communities, and the improvement of the River Dodder and its banks to provide a better amenity for the local population. Issues Land Use The Master Plan also identified a number of issues and these issues remain and if anything have become more acute since Land use in the "village" is very mixed and gives it a self-sufficient character. There is a real scarcity of available land or sites for development and existing lower value uses such as industry and workshops, are under pressure for change to private residential use. There have been a number of successful infill developments of affordable private housing and the pressure for this form of development and for future social housing is likely to increase. The difficulty of achieving this at a time of escalating site values and housing prices is acknowledged.

2 Civic Design Issues Ringsend/Irishtown is generally very coherent in a civic design sense, with attractive housing, largely of the two up, two down variety as well as some significant blocks of deck access flats. New buildings are likely to be infill in nature and will of necessity have to take their context into account. There are a number of critical sites which are currently in low-value use which are likely to change over time and this Plan is an opportunity to set down a framework for the future three- dimensional expression of new buildings in the area. The Ringsend shopping area, together with its church and library, has the potential to become an attractive civic space given the right interventions with new paving, landscaping and street furniture. Irishtown has a very attractive townscape quality and quite minor interventions could add to its visual amenity. Transportation Issues The area is bisected by heavy traffic, particularly along Bridge Street and Irishtown Road. While the traffic is likely to remain heavy for the foreseeable future, a number of measures envisaged will alleviate the 'problem. These include the emphasis on public transport, traffic calming, the improvement of the Bridge Street/Thorncastle Road junction and the ordering of road, pavement and parking bays. Strengths and Weaknesses The Master Plan also identified the strengths and weaknesses of the area and these are worth repeating and are as follows. Strengths The established residential community. The relative homogeneity, albeit of a low scale and relatively dense nature, of built fabric. The mixed use nature of the area with its living, working and recreational areas integrated in a selfsufficient manner. The extensive nature of public open space in a variety of forms, from riverside walks to seaside heritage areas and urban parks. The extensive sporting facilities in the area, including field sports and water-based activities. The under-exploited amenity resource of the River Dodder. Weaknesses Heavy traffic dividing the area, particularly heavy goods vehicles with associated problems of noise, fumes and danger. The scarcity of developable land to cater for any population growth in the area. The inaccessibility of a number of water bodies due to traffic arteries and dockside buildings. Poor passive policing of open spaces from peripheral vehicular routes and the absence of residential developments overlooking the main park with consequent security problems. Map 2 shows these strengths and weaknesses and Map 3 shows the land use zoning and specific proposals contained in the Master Plan. Map 4 shows the land use zoning and specific proposals contained in the Dublin City Development Plan 1999.

3 Master Plan Policies The Authority set out specific policies for Ringsend/Irishtown in the Master Plan, as follows: The Authority will seek to reinforce the mixed use nature of the area; coordinated policies and agencies to provide for the housing requirements arising from the natural growth of the existing communities; improve the village centre of Ringsend/lrishtown and Cambridge Road with new landscaping, paving, seating and lighting; improve the riverside walkways along the Dodder to form a (continuous) route from the Grand Canal Basin to Herbert Park, including the provision of a dedicated cycle path; encourage the provision of new social/affordable housing in strategic locations alongside Ringsend Park to improve the policing of the park; promote the introduction of a number of traffic-calmed precincts Proposed Initiatives Most of the works involved will be physical in nature and this study sets out particular proposals for the following: The realignment of roads and pavements to improve facilities for pedestrians and short-term parking. Aesthetic improvements in the form of new landscaping, seating and street lighting. The ordering and control of traffic passing through the area. The improving of access to Ringsend Park. The provision of a link between the "village" and the Grand Canal Dock area. Landscaping and improvements including the provision of a cycleway to the Dodder riverside. Possible sites for social/affordable housing. Townscape improvements. Archeology. Realignment of roads and pavements. The Area is fortunate in having some substantial roads which are not heavily trafficked and where space could be taken from the carriageway and given over to enlarged pedestrian areas which will also allow opportunities for tree planting, seating, and other amenity improvements. The two main roads where such improvements are proposed are Cambridge Road and Thorncastle Street at the section nearest Bridge Street.

4 Cambridge Road Cambridge Road has an average width of 14 metres (46 feet). The scale of buildings to either side is inconsistent, with buildings varying from one storey to four storeys and although most of these buildings are attractive in their own way, they do not provide a coherent enclosure to the street. Boundary conditions are eclectic and in some cases unsightly. One way of improving this is to use landscaping and ground finishes as the unifying elements which would provide an improved appearance to the street. It is therefore proposed to double the existing pavement widths on either side and provide strong boulevard street planting to supplement those trees already planted by Dublin Corporation. Designated car parking spaces can then be provided within this extended amenity strip but their visual impact will be screened by the tree planting. Sketch No. 1 shows the intended effect and is contrasted with a photograph of the existing road. Unsightly wirescape should be removed. Amenity lighting for the extended pavements using low level warm lighting will be required and it is recommended that a consistent style be adopted for the larger street lights. Thorncastle Street Thorncastle Street is particularly wide at its junction with Bridge Street and it is an area which has high quantities of pedestrians at particular occasions associated with the church and with the retail and business activities. Traffic on Thorncastle Street is relatively light and again there is an opportunity to provide for more pedestrian space to both the front of the church and to the front of the shops. Sketch No. 2 shows how the street might be improved. This again involves laying quality paving materials, providing new lighting, tree planting and seating. Consideration might also be given to licensing the pub/restaurants in the area to occupy part of the pavement in summertime. Irishtown Road Although heavily trafficked, the number of pinch points make singleline traffic the predominant pattern on the road and some opportunity exists for improving pavement widths with a view to them acting as traffic-calming devices. Wider pavements will also allow for more intensive tree planting which in turn provides both a psychological and physical barrier against heavy traffic for pedestrians. Ringsend Park Ringsend Park is one of the major assets in the area. However, it lacks a public presence in the sense of being highly visible to passers-by and is quite hidden from view. It is suggested that in order to improve this the presence of the park should be signalled at the entrance to St Patrick's Villas by constructing a named, gated "entrance" to advertise the park to encourage more frequent use. Interpretive panels could also be included as part of the entrance design which would inform people of the history of the park, its facilities, its species of trees and shrubs etc. Sketch No. 3 illustrates the proposal in outline form.

5 Link to Grand Canal Area The temporary bailey bridges erected at the time of the Tall Ships Race was indicative of the possibilities for more pedestrian movement and links that might be developed between the peninsula of land lying between the Liffey and Grand Canal Dock and the Ringsend/Irishtown area. The development of this peninsula will create a substantial residential population and the opportunity will exist for businesses in Ringsend to gain economically from the greater future population. In turn the existing community could take advantage of the hotel and restaurants facilities likely to be developed along Hanover Quay in the new redevelopment. A new pedestrian bridge is therefore proposed in a position similar to the position occupied by the bailey bridge along Thorncastle Street to the lock gates. Space would need to be made available from community controlled land and compensatory measures investigated and implemented. The Dodder Public access is currently available along the eastern side of the Dodder on Fitzwilliam Quay. However, the far side along by Shelboume Park Greyhound Stadium and the housing is in private ownership which makes it difficult to create a parallel route on the western side of the River between Ringsend Bridge and London Bridge. A similar problem exists in the area lying between Ringsend Bridge and the mouth of the Dodder whereas access exists on the western side, no access exists on the eastern side. It is proposed at the very least that the two stretches which do have pedestrian access be upgraded with more attractive paving, railings, tree planting and lighting. A cycleway should also be incorporated along the riverside route. Social and Affordable Housing The Authority is currently in con- sultation with Dublin Corporation with a view to identifying possible sites for acquisition or for development for sociallaffordable housing. It has to be recognised that there are very few possibilities in the area and given the escalation in site values it makes sense to first examine land in public ownership. Sites under investigation include, the pipe storage facility to the north of the existing pumping station, the area around the drain which is not part of the public park,small add-on single houses in the Bremen Road area. It is estimated that these lands could yield up to 50 housing units. Townscape Both Ringsend and Irishtown are fortunate in having a considerable amount of attractive domestic architecture and it is important that this be both conserved and developed. There is one critical site at the very heart of Ringsend, i.e. that site on Fitzwilliam Street behind the public library which is currently used for storage and workshop use. This particular area is zoned residential and is likely to be under pressure for redevelopment as private housing. The Authority will seek to apply its requirement for 20% of any redevelopment to be for social/affordable housing. However, there is a townscape issue and it is recommended that development on the Cambridge Road frontage be restricted to three storeys + attic, with the main building line following the back of pavement or near the back of the pavement. It is also recommended that the lower floors be used for retail or business use with the upper floors in residential use. Sketch No. 4 illustrates the appropriate scale for any such buildings. In addition this section of Cambridge Road is used effectively as a car park and it is recommended that the entire road and pavement be resurfaced so as to give dominance to the pedestrian abd confine parking to the areas allocated for cars.

6 The area contains a number of Residential Conservation Areas and many of the houses have been improved structurally and superficially (new roofs, replacement windows, doors, decorative materials etc.) in a manner which is unsympathetic to their design. The Authority would encourage property owners to improve or repair their buildings in a manner which is sensitive to the architecture. The Department of the Environment and Dublin Corporation have published very useful guideline documents to advise householders on how to refurbish their homes in visually sensitive areas. Archaeology Both Ringsend and Irishtown are included in areas which are indicated as being zones of archaeological interest in both the Master Plan and in the Dublin City Development Plan. The A authority supports the Corporation in its policies for such areas. Implementation Implementing the works will require the combined involvement of the community, local business interests, statutory service providers as well as Dublin Corporation and the Docklands Authority. The works proposed are quite extensive and will involve the expenditure of considerable sums of money. The Authority will seek to fund the development through its own resources and in cooperation with other relevant agencies such as Dublin Corporation who have particular legal responsibilities in relation to both housing and streets and pavements. It is envisaged that the work would be phased over a five year period. Consultation Following consideration of submissions made to the Authority, the following additional features are now proposed. 1. The enhancement and enlargement of the steps and area leading from Ringsend Bridge to the quayside north of the bridge as shown in sketch below. 2. The enlargernent of the new surface area to Irishtown Road which is designed to act as a traffic calming measure and which is now shown on A3 "Revised" Map. Implementation 5 Year Plan Yr. 1/2 Dodder Walk Thorncastle St. Ringsend Bridge/Steps and Floodlighting Yr. 3 Fitzwilliam St. Park Entrance Yr. 4 Cambridge Rd. Yr. 5 Remaining Works

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