Dublin's north docks are to be developed as a mixed commercial and residential quarter, at an estimated cost of u £2 billion, under a draft planning scheme unveiled yesterday.
Mr Peter Coyne, chief executive of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA), said he was confident the requisite infrastructure - including a rail tunnel under the River Liffey - would materialise to permit the scheme to proceed.
The scheme provides for a single tall tower - up to 100 m (330 feet) high - on a new public square behind the Point Depot, terminating a tree-lined boulevard along Mayor Street.
However, it sets a limit of 44 m (11 storeys) on the maximum height of new buildings on the pivotal Spencer Dock site, so only the glazed apex of the long-delayed National Conference Centre would intrude on the "Georgian Mile" vista from Fitzwilliam Street.
The site had been earmarked for a massive commercial and residential development, but it was refused permission by An Bord Pleanala last July.
If the National Conference Centre, for which approval was granted by the appeals board, does not materialise, the DDDA will be depending on the Government to promote an alternative cultural use for the site; otherwise, the site would be developed as an urban park.
Referring to the single tall building now envisaged for the eastern extremity of the 80-acre strip of land covered by the latest planning scheme, Mr Coyne said it would have to be a structure of "particular beauty and grandeur".
A height limit of six storeys, with a possible seventh-floor set back, has been set for North Wall Quay, while buildings to the rear could be as low as four storeys. Existing two-storey houses on Mayor Street and New Wapping Street are retained.
Overall, it is estimated the scheme would produce some 4 million sq ft (371,610 sq m) of office space and up to 3,000 apartments, mostly laid out around semi-private courtyards, as well as hotels, community, cultural and shopping facilities.
According to Mr Coyne, the north docks "will be one of the most intensively developed in Dublin".
Mr Coyne emphasised that the early provision of public transport was critical to the area's development. This includes an extension of the Tallaght Luas light-rail line down Mayor Street to the Point Depot and an underground line running through Spencer Dock.
The Luas project team is already working on the proposed extension and Mayor Street is to be widened to 21 m (70 ft) to accommodate this project as well as two traffic lanes and broad pavements on both sides lined with restaurants, bars and other facilities.
Mr Coyne said he hoped a design for the underground rail link would be finalised by 2003, though he conceded it could be a further three years before it became operational. In the meantime, space would have to be allocated for a station at Spencer Dock.
Also critical to making the area more accessible is the proposed Macken Street bridge, which he foresaw carrying a second Luas line. Car parking in the area is to be severely limited and developers will have to produce "mobility plans", with the emphasis on public transport.
The draft planning scheme will now go through the statutory process of public consultation prior to its adoption - with or without amendments - by the DDDA's executive board and council in April. It will then be submitted to the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey.
