Swords Masterplan - Fingal County Council
Swords Masterplan - Fingal County Council
Swords Masterplan - Fingal County Council
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4.1 Character<br />
The Civic Quarter is defined as the area at the junction of Main Street/North<br />
Street where the main civic uses are located including the <strong>Fingal</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Council</strong><br />
offices, the Courthouse, and <strong>Swords</strong> Castle, which was the historic governing<br />
centre of the Town.<br />
There is an opportunity to develop and consolidate this area as an expanded<br />
Civic Quarter and thereby strengthen the attraction of the northern end of Main<br />
Street, through the development of the <strong>Council</strong> owned surface car park at the<br />
junction of North Street and Seatown Road (possible future uses for the <strong>Council</strong><br />
car park could include a new Garda station and Courthouse) and the<br />
development of a major civic space in front of <strong>Swords</strong> Castle.<br />
4.2 Connectivity<br />
The proposed Metro Stop at Seatown will be the main stop directly serving the Civic<br />
Quarter, further enhancing its accessibility and hence attractiveness. There may be<br />
an opportunity to develop the <strong>Council</strong> owned surface car park at the junction of<br />
the R132, as well as a number of key sites along Seatown Lane to strengthen this<br />
route from the Metro Stop back into the Civic Quarter and the Main Street.<br />
4.3 Design<br />
S W O R D S M A S T E R P L A N<br />
4.0 Civic Quarter<br />
Key to the enhancement and attractiveness of this Civic Quarter area, is the<br />
development of a Public Realm Strategy for the Town Centre, which will include<br />
the design of the public realm at the junction of Main Street/Bridge Street/North<br />
Street incorporating the area in front of <strong>Swords</strong> Castle, the entrance to Main<br />
Street and the area adjoining <strong>Fingal</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Council</strong> car park. The design of this<br />
public space at the Civic Quarter, including the increased visibility and<br />
enhancement of the Castle, is important to the success of this area.<br />
The proposed Public Realm Strategy for the Town Centre will address a number<br />
of criteria including inter alia the following:<br />
● Provision of two public plazas at the Civic (<strong>Swords</strong> Castle) node and the<br />
proposed Cultural node at the southern end of Main Street.<br />
● Enhancement of the ‘Green’ character of Main Street.<br />
● Reduction in the width of the carriageway along Main Street and the widening<br />
of footpaths, thereby enhancing pedestrian connectivity and priority.<br />
● Traffic management measures, including on-street parking arrangements.<br />
● Removal of superfluous street clutter and providing for integrated street<br />
furniture, public lighting and signage strategy.<br />
● Integration of hard and soft landscaping, with an appropriate maintenance<br />
regime (with particular regard to providing a palette of [1] appropriate tree<br />
species and [2] material palette for hard landscaping/surface materials<br />
within the Town Centre).<br />
● Establishment of criteria for the provision and location of public art.<br />
The criteria to be considered within the Public Realm Strategy are discussed<br />
further in this <strong>Masterplan</strong> under Section 9.0. The strategy will be prepared in<br />
tandem with the development of the Traffic Management Strategy for <strong>Swords</strong><br />
Town Centre.<br />
In recognition of the importance of the public realm to the vibrancy and quality<br />
of the Town Centre environment, including the success of the Civic Quarter, the<br />
public realm strategy shall be complete within 12-24 months of the preparation<br />
of the <strong>Masterplan</strong>.<br />
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