Greystones plan features new town square

Amended plans for the redevelopment of Greystones Harbour, showing a new town square, have been submitted to An Bord Pleanála by Wicklow County Council and its joint venture partners in the scheme.

The main changes include the deletion of three residential blocks where the proposed development meets the existing, largely Victorian, harbourside houses.

Also, planned new premises for existing sports and leisure clubs that use the harbour have been relocated from the area in front of the Victorian Bayswater Terrace to the east pier area. There has been a small reduction in commercial space from about 6,400sq m to 5,625sq m.

Taken together, the changes make space for the creation of a new town square.

An image of the square, and other images submitted to the board, show a greatly enhanced public area between the new and older parts of the harbour with flags bearing the words "Greystones Marina" and "arts festival".

The developers said yesterday that the proposed square would become "a focal point for the town of Greystones at the heart of the old harbour area".

Some of the residential units in the deleted blocks have been added elsewhere in the scheme, leaving a net reduction in the number of units of 34. The new total number is 341.

Sispar, the joint venture company involving John Sisk and Company, Park Developments and Wicklow County Council, has amended the environmental impact statement for the scheme and resubmitted it to An Bord Pleanála.

It has also submitted a letter from the Environmental Protection Agency confirming that its proposed treatment of the former municipal dump on the site corresponds to best practice. It has submitted a detailed design and layout for a precast yard/ batching plant as well as for a "borrow" pit.

It has set out detailed mitigation measures regarding noise, dust, light and traffic disturbance during the construction period.

Mayor of Greystones Derek Mitchell (Fine Gael) was enthusiastic about the revised plans yesterday, pointing out that the amendments closely resembled suggestions he put forward at the initial An Bord Pleanála hearing earlier this year.

Mr Mitchell said that he believed the harbour as now proposed "will be the best community harbour in Ireland - it will provide a great focal point and turn the town around to face the sea."

However, Fiachra Etchingham of the Greystones Protection and Development Association accused the developers of "paying lip service to Bord Pleanála's recommendation that the bulk of the development be reduced".

He said the residential element would be, if anything, more bulky at the northern end of the site as a result of the reconfiguration, while he estimated the reduction of 34 residential units represented a drop of just 8 per cent - "which is not going to significantly alter the traffic problem".