#EastWall Matters – July 2022

EAST WALL VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT PLAN

The Dublin Central Area Committee of Dublin City Council, which I am proud to have been re-elected as Chair, agreed to support the preparation of a targeted East Village Improvement Plan. I will be pursuing the matter further at the September meeting of the Committee in terms of the next steps to be undertaken in advancing this project. Over the last number of weeks, I received a huge level of feedback in terms of suggestions or ideas that could be included in such a dedicated plan for East Wall. Details of what I circulated locally back in May can be found here – https://bit.ly/3PoQSlG.

DUBLIN CITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Councillors amended the draft Dublin City Development Plan that was the subject of two rounds of public consultation earlier this year. Across three evenings between July 5^th and 7^th, and almost 20 hours of debate, we agreed on a revised planning rule book for the city that will come into effect later this year. A further round of public consultation will begin soon whereby Dubliners will have the opportunity to comment on the material amendments adopted by Council. Part of the draft Plan includes the designation of a Strategic Development and Regeneration Area for the Docklands which includes the East Wall area. The SDRA details guiding principles for the potential redevelopment of key sites in East Wall including the Docklands Innovation Park, Chadwick’s Yard and East Road. To view the SDRA Chapter relating to the Docklands and East Wall, please click here – https://bit.ly/3cfAgyz.

HSE REGIONAL HEALTH FORUM – EAST WALL

I am a member of the HSE’s Dublin North Regional Forum, and I use my membership of that body to highlight the need for greater levels of health infrastructure across the North Inner City. Our forthcoming meeting at the end of July will see the HSE respond to me about their efforts to provide a new Primary Care Centre for the communities of East Wall and North Wall. I have also put forward a proposal whereby the HSE would provide mobility breast check facilities in the North-East Inner City, including East Wall, where the uptake of breast check remains low. If you would like more information on these issues, please get in touch with me.

RUSSELL AVENUE RECREATION CENTRE IMPROVEMENTS

A Concept Plan for the East Wall Recreation Area was developed as part of the North-East Inner City Greening Strategy. However, this plan needs to be further developed with input from stakeholders and the community. While funding has not yet been identified for this project, the Parks Department intends on meeting with local residents, community groups and youth organisations to determine their priorities for the space before finalising the proposal and presenting it to the Dublin Central Area Committee.

NEIGHBOURHOOD TRAFFIC SCHEME

The Transportation Department of Dublin City Council is currently finalising a project tender brief for the East Wall Neighbourhood Traffic Scheme in order to procure a consultant to assess and develop a design for this scheme. Details of which I shared in my latest East Wall Matters community newsletter, can be found here – https://bit.ly/3AJGOzE. It is anticipated that consultants can be procured shortly.  Public Consultation of the plan will be carried out with local residents and businesses and a report summarising the findings of the consultation will be presented to the Dublin Central Area Committee.  It is envisaged that the scheme can be implemented in 2022, depending on the approval of local Councillors. I expect to have a more accurate implementation timeline once the Transportation Engineers come back before the Area Committee. Following completion of the Filtered Permeability Trial on Church Street East, further measures such as filtered permeability to discourage through-traffic on other streets in East Wall Area can be considered for implementation.

I hope this information is of assistance to you. Please come back to me, however, if there are any issues or queries arising from the details outlined above.