The purpose of the Sustainable Swords project is to produce a place-making strategy focused on the strategic regeneration and compact, sustainable development of Swords. The goal is to increase the resilience of the local economy and to provide for an enhanced, accessible, inclusive, child friendly and healthy urban environment. A vibrant town for all.
The Sustainable Swords initiative is an output of strategic documents, including ‘Your Swords – An Emerging City – Strategic Vision 2035’ and the current Fingal County Development Plan 2017-2023. The vision of the former is to consolidate and strengthen the historic town centre of Swords; whilst the latter describes several specific objectives for the town centre within the context of a plan-led strategy.
The ambition for Sustainable Swords is to form a coordinating device that will establish a package of measures and projects that are prioritised, programmed and impactful, and that critically will enable the coordination of investment and decision-making across multiple stakeholders, maximising private sector engagement and identifying opportunities for synergies and collaboration.
Sustainable Swords Strategy Agreed
Fingal County Council has published the Sustainable Swords Strategy. This place-making strategy is the result of two years consultation and work with the community and is focused on the strategic regeneration and compact, sustainable development of Swords. The goal is to increase the resilience of the local economy and to provide for an enhanced, accessible, inclusive, child friendly and healthy urban environment.
View the Strategy and all supporting documents below
Public realm and transport strategy
View the Public realm and transport strategy
Sustainable Swords Health Check & Emerging Themes
An ‘emerging themes’ document has been published. The public are invited to explore these themes.
Draft Sustainable Swords documents
You can view the Draft Strategy and all supporting documents here
Becoming a More Resilient Town
Swords is a dynamic town that has rapidly grown in recent decades due to its proximity to Dublin Airport, the city centre and major local investment and growth of employment hubs such as nearby Dublin Airport, the Pavilions Shopping Centre and business parks along the R132 (including Airside, Swords Business Park and Swords Business Campus). This growth is anticipated to continue, albeit there is currently a heavy reliance on the implementation of MetroLink to catalyse development opportunities within the ‘Metro Economic Corridor’.
Sustainable Swords will focus specifically on placemaking within the town centre and it is intended that the historic shift away from Main Street that commenced in the early 2000s (as demonstrated the relatively high turnover and vacancy rates and movement of smaller premises from North Street-Main Street towards the Pavilions and business parks along the R132 corridor) will be reversed to facilitate better placemaking and a more resilient town centre. Sustainable Swords will facilitate an accessible, inviting public realm that links with the natural and historic context of the Ward River Valley Park and Swords Castle would improve permeability and enhance the opportunities for local innovation and economic development.
