Urban Design Framework Plan

BLANCHARDSTOWN VILLAGE Urban Design Framework Plan March 2010 2 | MARCH 2010 BLANCHARDSTOWN VILLAGE Urban Design Framework Plan MARCH 2010 DAVID O’CONNOR GILBERT POWER COUNTY MANAGER DIRECTOR OF PLANNING Joan Caffrey Louise Murphy Senior Planner Executive Planner Stewart Logan Yolande McMahon Senior Executive Planner Assistant Planner Matthew McAleese Senior Executive Planner Fingal County Council Planning Department, Grove Road, Blanchardstown BLANCHARDSTOWN VILLAGE URBAN DESIGN FRAMEWORK PLAN | 3 4 | MARCH 2010 CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION 7 1.1 The Fingal Development Plan 2005-2011 8 1.2 The Blanchardstown Urban Structure Plan , BUSP 9 2.0 BLANCHARDSTOWN URBAN STRUCTURE PLAN & BLANCHARDSTOWN TOWN CENTRE DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK/MASTERPLAN 11 2.1 Design Objectives: - 11 2.2 Land Use Objectives: - 11 2.3 Transport Objectives: 12 2.4 Design Framework 12 3.0 THE STUDY AREA 13 3.1 Characteristics of Blanchardstown Village 13 3.1.1 Land Use 13 3.1.2 Ownership 14 3.1.3 Townscape 14 3.1.4 The Built Heritage 15 3.1.5 Natural Amenities 18 3.2 Relationship with the Blanchardstown Centre and the Wider Area 19 3.2.1 Town Centre & Village 19 3.2.2 Interaction between Town Centre & Village 19 3.2.3 The Wider Area 20 4.0 MOVEMENT 21 4.1 The Village 21 4.1.1 Rail 21 4.1.2 Car Movement 21 4.1.3 Pedestrian Movement 22 4.1.4 Cycle Movement 22 4.2 Movement in the Wider Area 23 5.0 STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES OPPORTUNITIES & THREATS 24 5.1 Village 24 5.1.1 Strengths 24 5.1.2 Weaknesses 24 5.1.3 Opportunities 24 5.1.4 Threats 25 6.0 STRATEGIC ACTIONS 26 7.0 OPPORTUNITY SITES 28 7.1 The Village 28 7.2 Opportunity Site No. 1 31 7.3 Site No. 2 35 7.4 Site No. 3 37 7.5 Site No.4 39 7.6 Site No. 5 41 7.7 Site No. 6 43 7.8 Site No. 7 45 7.9 Site Nos. 8 and 9 47 7.10 Site No. 10 49 BLANCHARDSTOWN VILLAGE URBAN DESIGN FRAMEWORK PLAN | 5 7.11 Site No. 11 51 7.12 Site No 12 53 7.13 Site No 13 55 7.14 Rezoning 57 7.15 Social and Economic Benefits of Developing the Opportunity Sites 58 8.0 ON-STREET PARKING/BUS AND CYCLE LANES 59 9.0 THE TOLKA VALLEY 63 9.1 Fingal County Development Plan 2005-2011 Objectives 63 9.2 Current State 63 10.0 MOVEMENT BETWEEN VILLAGE AND SURROUNDING 65 10.1 Connecting the Village and the Town Centre 65 10.2 Other Routes 65 11.0 SHOP FRONT AND SIGNAGE GUIDELINES 68 11.1 The Village 68 12.0 PUBLIC REALM 73 12.1 Streetscape Manual 73 APPENDIX 1: OPPORTUNITY SITES CAPACITY 77 APPENDIX 2: MAP & ITINERARY OF STREET FURNITURE CLUTTER 78 APPENDIX3: LIST OF PERSONS OR BODIES THAT MADE SUBMISSIONS 82 6 | MARCH 2010 1.0 INTRODUCTION Blanchardstown is a thriving community with a population of 93,000 people which is expected to increase over time to 120,000-150,000. The Myles Wright Plan for the Dublin Area published in 1966 selected Blanchardstown as one of the new towns to be developed west of Dublin City and the area owes much of its growth to the targeted development subsequently planned for the area. Although the town faces many challenges particularly arising from the current economic circumstances, it enjoys advantages in that it contains companies with high quality employment as well as a major retail centre and Connolly Hospital. The town is strategically well placed close to the M50 and it enjoys good access to the wider Dublin conurbation. It has a good rail connection to Dublin’s City Centre via the Connolly-Maynooth rail line. There are railway stations at Laurel Lodge, Coolmine and Clonsilla. In addition the planned development of Metro West will further enhance its accessibility. Blanchardstown Village lies at the heart of the town and is an important part of the identity and character of the Town. It originated as a small typical crossroads rural village centred on the junction of Main Street and Church Avenue/Mill Road. It saw some early industrial development with the establishment of Blanchardstown Mills in the late 18TH Century, which took advantage of the development of the Royal Canal to transport goods and access markets. It later became a flour mill and was subsequently used for manufacturing margarine until a major fire in 1994. The Village also contained Rathborne’s Candle Factory and a cattle market. The development of what is now Connolly Hospital initially took place in 1955 when it was developed for the treatment of tuberculosis. This encouraged the development of housing in the Village. The most prominent building is St Bridgid’s Church, which was completed in 1863. Another prominent building is that now occupied by Brennan’s Kitchens which was formerly a Carmelite Seminary subsequently occupied by the Holy Ghost Fathers and then by the nuns of St Joseph of Cluny and dates back to 1828. The Village faces challenges arising from the rapid development that has occurred in the recent past that has placed pressure on it in terms of changes to its character, traffic congestion, an expansion of business services and connectivity to the wider Blanchardstown area. The Fingal County Development Plan and the Blanchardstown Urban Structure Plan gave particular attention to these issues. This Blanchardstown Urban Design Framework Plan, document develops an appropriate urban design response to these challenges. BLANCHARDSTOWN VILLAGE URBAN DESIGN FRAMEWORK PLAN | 7 1.1 The Fingal Development Plan 2005-2011 The Fingal Development Plan 2005-2011 set out a number of Development and Local Objectives for Blanchardstown. They included the following; Development Objectives Objective Blanchardstown 1 To prepare a Masterplan for the future development of the town Centre and Blanchardstown Village Objective Blanchardstown 7 To improve the Blanchardstown village streetscape and environment through appropriate high quality infill development Objective Blanchardstown 8 To protect and preserve the floodplain of the Tolka as an important element in the drainage infrastructure of the area Objective Blanchardstown 9 To upgrade the visual environment of Blanchardstown Village by: • The removal of unauthorised signs • The replacement of overhead cables and wires by underground services • The rationalisation of public car parking • The introduction of appropriate landscaping and paving Local Objectives No 362 To provide a high quality visual entrance to Blanchardstown Village in the redevelopment of buildings in the vicinity of the junction of Clonsilla Road and Main Street. No.367 To encourage the redevelopment of this underutilised local centre for mixed-use including residential, office and retail development that provides a positive visual contribution to the streetscape. No 372 To protect the flood plain of the Tolka. No. 375 To facilitate the development of an extended mixed-use commercial area for the Village which augments local services, office, employment and community facilities and enhances the village streetscape. In addition Local Objective No. 356 set out an objective “To prepare a masterplan setting out the future retail, leisure, other commercial and civic uses within an enhanced urban design and environmental framework, together with the transportation infrastructure needed to meet the short ,medium and long-term requirement of the town centre and locality”. 8 | MARCH 2010 As a consequence of these objectives the Blanchardstown Urban Structure Plan (Fingal County Council, Spring 2007) (BUSP) and the Blanchardstown Town Centre Development Framework/Masterplan Spring 2009 were produced. 1.2 Blanchardstown Urban Structure Plan (BUSP) and Blanchardstown Town Centre Development Framework/Masterplan These policy documents identify Blanchardstown Village as a development opportunity area. Objectives are set out on design, land use and transportation for implementation in redevelopment sites that may come on stream in the future. A specific objective is also stated to produce an Urban Design Framework (UDFP) to guide this new development. This UDFP is a non-statutory document. The purpose is to provide guidance by means of a well-illustrated document demonstrating how the objectives might be formulated and designed. The Village has been the subject of a number of planning applications for re-development and/or the development of vacant sites. This UDFP will provide an appropriate template to test proposals in terms of their urban design, land use and transportation provisions. Although the UDFP primarily focuses on the Village, it also refers to the wider Blanchardstown area given the policy objective to integrate the Village with the new Town Centre set out in the Strategy Documents. Map No 1 sets out the primary study area, which is shown outlined in red and the wider Blanchardstown Town Centre Area is outlined in blue. Map No.1A Primary Study Area & Wider Blanchardstown Area BLANCHARDSTOWN VILLAGE URBAN DESIGN FRAMEWORK PLAN | 9 Map No.1B Primary Study Area 10 | MARCH 2010 2.0 BLANCHARDSTOWN URBAN STRUCTURE PLAN AND BLANCHARDSTOWN TOWN CENTRE DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK/MASTERPLAN The policy documents set out a number of design, land use and transport objectives that apply to Blanchardstown Village. 2.1 Design Objectives: - Integrate the Village as an axis with the Town Centre Remodel the built environment into mixed use development of a higher density and close- knit urban form Remodel and traffic manage the Main Street roadway into a streetscape, designed to be a place for living and enjoyment Maximise the utility of the Tolka Valley adjacent to the Main Street (rear of) An Urban Design Framework to guide development formats. 2.2 Land Use Objectives: - The Structure Plan states that: “as the scope for the densification of existing uses is limited in Blanchardstown Village backlands areas, the growth in residential floorspace will largely be made up of mixed use developments where residential development is located above retail and other commercial uses.

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