Swords Masterplan - Fingal County Council

Building Orientation
THE RETAIL/COMMERCIAL CORE
The buildings within Main Street offer many active frontages to the public realm
with most accommodating shops and commercial activity at ground floor level.
Gaps in the building line offer access and views into laneways which are a
distinctive local feature. Again these are frequently fronted by ground floor active
uses. These include River Mall, Colmcille Court to the west of Main Street and
Swords Town Centre Mall, Mainscourt and The Plaza to the east of Main Street.
To the backlands, west of the Main Street the rear gardens, yards surface car
parks and high walls that front the river walk contributes to an inactive frontage
with poor natural surveillance.
Active frontages to be promoted
Inactive frontages to be avoided
S W O R D S M A S T E R P L A N
CIVIC/COMMUNITY CORE
Within this character area buildings are generally set in rows facing the street.
Some properties have medium-large front gardens with high walls creating sections
of blank frontages. In other areas open plan front gardens ensure active frontages.
COMMERCIAL/RESIDENTIAL
The formal street layout of this character area with buildings perpendicular to the
street creates a strong frontage and building line to North Street. In some areas
the use of high fences and walls contributes to an inactive street frontage. This is
particularly evident on the side street immediately north of the Carnegie Court
Hotel approaching Seatown Villas.
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Building Heights and Massing
THE RETAIL/COMMERCIAL CORE
The majority of the western edge of the Main Street has developed at a low-rise
scale, predominantly featuring two-storey terraced buildings. The individual
buildings contain a variation in their heights from ground to eaves. This is
realised by changes in the angle of the roof pitch and the internal floor to ceiling
heights. The roofscape and variation in the scale and massing of buildings
provides a richness of character along the western edge of the Main street.
To the eastern edge of the Main Street there are numerous recent modern infill
buildings of 3 to 5 storeys, which create a denser feel to this side of the town. The
taller buildings here such as the County Hall relate well to the wider Main Street.
Seatown Road: Buildings front the street with open setbacks The western edge of the Main Street predominantly featuring two-storey terraced buildings
North Street: The use of high fences and walls contributes to an inactive street frontage The eastern edge of the Main Street featuring buildings from three to five storeys