DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL (DCC) has warmly welcomed the redesignation of Dublin’s Poolbeg glass bottle site as a strategic development zone (SDZ).
The huge site, which measures 34 hectares in size, has been idle for many years after becoming one of the most high-profile victims of the economic crash.
With its new status, there is room on site for 3,000 new homes along with “a wider range of employment opportunities and social infrastructure such as schools”, according to DCC.
The council had asked the government to redesignate the land for development given the critical need for housing in the capital and the fact that the site hadn’t been put to any purpose for some time.
Bankrolled for development in the 2000s to the tune of over €410 million, the site was possibly the most high profile of all to be transferred to post-crash asset-management agency NAMA.
According to Dublin City manager Owen Keegan the redesignation of the site is an opportunity to build on the success of the nearby North Lotts and Grand Canal SDZ which has seen over 85% of its development blocks either approved or at pre-application consultation.
“The Poolbeg West SDZ is a fast-track mechanism which will enable the City Council to provide much needed housing in an extremely attractive area of the City close to many amenities,” Keegan said.
The redesignation of the site “clears the way for a range of opportunities including major residential development” according to Fine Gael’s Coveney.
“With the potential for up to 3,000 badly needed new homes close to employment and services, in addition there will be commercial and employment activities including, office, hotel, leisure and retail facilities – all of which will provide much needed jobs opportunities,” he said.
DCC will now work together with the two major stakeholders in the area, Dublin Port and NAMA, to advance the development of the land.
It is expected that a planning scheme will be in place by the end of the year.
The Green Party has welcomed the new SDZ, saying the move is ‘long overdue’.
“If the Government get this right, it has the potential to rival the great housing projects of the 1930′s,” party leader Eamon Ryan said in a statement.
It’s important that any development at the Glass Bottle Site delivers the right mix of commercial, housing and retail development.
We would like to see the Glass Bottle Site used as a test location for a new cost-rental model of social and affordable housing.
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