Donabate Urban Centre Strategy Fingal County Council

5.0 Urban Design Appraisal
5.1.9 Green Spaces
Newbridge Demesne is a regional park owned
by Fingal County Council. It adjoins the town
centre immediately to the west. The demesne
landscape at Newbridge House is a designated ACA
(Architectural Conservation Area) in the County
Development Plan. The demesne offers a wealth
of mature trees and woodland areas that hold a
number of vulnerable and locally scarce birds.
There is little structure or continuity to the public
open space presently provided within the urban
centre of Donabate.
The exception is at the southern entry to the town
centre (at the R126 junction with the Balcarrick
Road), where a gateway of open space is formed by
the old cemetery to the west of the road and a green
square as part of St. Patrick’s Terrace to the right of
the road. The space has some attractive qualities and
contains significant tree stands. Where the park is
weak is in its role as usable public open space as
there are no facilities for seating, refuse collection
or lighting provision. This will need to be considered
as part of the environmental improvements to the
town centre.
Public open space is provided in all of the residential
estates surrounding the town centre. These areas are
grassed with some trees. There is limited continuity
or connectivity between open spaces within estates
and between neighbouring estates. These spaces
have no clear function as play/recreation areas
(there is no furniture or equipment provided), scenic
features (there is limited ornamental planting) or as
habitats.
There is potential within the strategy to enable
these spaces to contribute to recreational and visual
amenity by providing a green linkage to other green
open spaces and provide connections back to the
town centre.
There are two areas within Donabate town where
the grassed verges to the roads edge appear
unlandscaped. These are located at the northern
and eastern edge of Main Street, opposite Keelings
pub, and adjacent to Bunch of Grapes off-licence, at
the Balcarrick Road. There is an opportunity here
to introduce street trees and shrub planting to offer
a better sense of enclosure to the street. Please
refer to Map 7: Green Spaces.
Grassed verge at Balcarrick Road Grassed verge at northern end of the Main Street
Green square as part of St. Patrick's Terrace The old cemetery
Donabate Urban Centre Strategy 22