Swords Masterplan - Fingal County Council

3.4.1 THE RETAIL/COMMERCIAL CORE
S W O R D S M A S T E R P L A N
Urban Design Principle Issue Urban Design Guidelines
Connections + Routes The Town Centre area is dominated by heavy traffic flow and could be Promote the Town Centre area as a pedestrian prioritised environment, utilising the overall width of Main Street to create wider pavements. Create
more pedestrian-friendly.
a well-signed, direct pedestrian route between the Pavilions and the Town Centre to encourage increased pedestrian flow. The proposed Metro
North link to Swords and the permeability of Swords Town Centre make the town well suited to pedestrian oriented public realm improvements.
Continue the pedestrian route along the riverwalk northwards and connect onto Bridge Street and to Swords Town Park and beyond.
Parking Car parking occupies prominent areas in the Town Centre area, some Create a parking strategy for Swords to investigate ways of freeing up parking space. Investigate ways of developing multi level car parking fronted
of which might provide excellent infill development opportunities.
by commercial/retail uses at key opportunity sites north of the Town Centre. Provide for adequate levels of short term carparking especially along Main
Street. Please refer to Section 3.6 on Traffic Management Strategy.
Safety and Security The side streets and backland areas should be well lit to minimise
The backland areas east and west of Main Street present themselves as particularly vulnerable in terms of safety and security. Urban Design
safety problems.
interventions should be seen as one of many ways of addressing this. Buildings should front onto streets and laneways should be well lit and in
certain cases covered by CCTV. The principles of ‘Safer Places: the planning system and crime prevention’ by the ODPM should be incorporated as
part of any new development (Please refer to Appendix 2).
Protected Structures Swords’ medieval street layout and some buildings of high
The Town Centre is a sensitive area for new architecture, and an area where public realm quality is more noticeable. New buildings and public
architectural quality contribute to the town’s character by creating
realm improvements should compliment the existing protected structures, historic streetscape and high quality of architecture. Work to Protected
enclosed linear spaces at the heart of the town along the Main Street, Structures should match the original details and materials, and specialist advice sought prior to any major repair or refurbishment. Normally
North Street and Dublin Street. The high level of vacant and derelict
buildings detracts from the character of the area.
planning permission will be required for any such works.
Development Block
Size
The block layout in the retail/commercial core is typically organic in
form and layout.
New block structures should retain the prevailing block dimensions. However some flexibility and variation in size and shape should be promoted
to reinforce the distinctive organic nature of the town. To the east of Main Street promote a block size of approximately 40m x 50m. To the west of
Main Street promote a block size of approximately 80m x 140m. Opportunities exist to complete the block formation in the backlands to Main Street.
Urban Grain The street structure of Swords Town Centre clearly reveals the town’s Use existing urban grain dimensions as a basis to guide new development into a settlement with distinct character areas. For the retail/commercial core
historical roles as a market town with Swords Castle at the meeting
maintain the prevailing building width of 8m-10m to the western edge of Main Street and a width of 15-20m to the eastern edge. New development
point of North Street, Bridge Street and Main Street. The urban grain of
the town shows a tight grain at Main Street gradually becoming more
looser as one moves northwards to North Street and Seatown Road.
can address this grain through facade design with variations in the facade composition to echo the historical grain pattern.
Quality of Building
Frontage and Orientation
Building Height and
Massing
Architectural
Features
Main Street offers a continuous wall of positive frontages with associated
laneways, fronted by ground floor active uses. However to the backland
area west of Main Street the quality of frontage needs improvement.
Traditionally, Swords has been developed to consistent building
heights (2-3 storeys) creating a pleasing unity about the town as a
whole. This aids the Town Centre’s legibility as the heart of the town.
Many older properties along Main Street have a vertical emphasis to
their character, with good solid to void ratios and architectural
features of merit.
To the backlands west of Main Street propose new infill development with a positive orientation and frontage to the River Ward.
Swords Main Street has developed with buildings of two storeys with a variation in their height from ground to eaves heights. The prevailing roof
height should generally be maintained. The variation in the pitches of the street’s roofscape should be encouraged. Flat roofed infill developments
should be rejected especially at the western edge of Main Street in an effort to preserve the existing pitched roof character.
To maintain the varied roofline, detailed layouts of new buildings within the retail/commercial core should avoid straight runs of more than 3 buildings with
the same height dimensions. The consistent storey heights within the Town Centre should not be broken by inappropriately tall buildings, particularly
around Swords Castle, the County Hall and St Colmcille’s Church. Within the backland areas adjacent to the River Ward to the west of Main Street is
the most suitable area for buildings of up to five storeys (approx 16m), given its topography relative to the Main Street. At the planning application stage
proposals within this area should be subject to a visual impact assessment in an effort to ensure that the integrity of the Main Street is not compromised.
Ensure the following in new developments to respect the existing character of Main Street:
Building Proportion
• A high solid to void ratio in all new buildings.
• Vertical window forms should be promoted to enhance the vertical emphasis.
Roofs and Chimneys
• Roofs should always span the shortest plan dimension to avoid excessively large roof spans.
• Roof pitches should generally be between 30°-35°.
• Lean-to roofs should be of equal or lower pitch than the main roof.
• Flat roofs should be avoided in particular to the western edge of Main Street.
• Promote the use of gable and hipped roof styles to reflect the prevailing roof profile.
• Discourage the use of gambrel/mansard or bonnet type roof profiles.
• Retain existing chimneys, even if not in use, and new chimneys and repairs should match the traditional details.
• Avoid the standard modern box eaves with deep projecting fascia, flat soffit and projecting barge boards.
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