Integrated Design Team appointed to Our Balbriggan Bridge Street Project
The key message around the De Bruns IDT appointment is that there will be constructive dialogue locally around how the site will look and feel, as has been the case with projects at Quay Street, the Harbour and Dublin Street
An exciting milestone in the €50million Balbriggan Regeneration project has been reached, with the appointment of a design team to redevelop the De Bruns site.
Fingal County Council has appointed an architect-led multi-disciplinary Integrated Design Team (IDT) for the transformation of 6a-14 Bridge Street.
It is a massive step in the town’s redevelopment under the Our Balbriggan Rejuvenation Programme.
The Integrated Design Team model, which employs local stakeholder engagement to progress plans, has already been successfully deployed on other Our Balbriggan projects, including the Quay Street and Harbour development and creative hub at 2-4 Dublin Street.
Work on the redevelopment of Quay Street and Harbour area will begin shortly, while planning permission for the new creative hub was approved last October.
Leading award winning Dublin City-based architects, McCullough Mulvin will lead the IDT for De Bruns and will shortly commence early and ongoing local stakeholder engagement for the 10,000 square metre site.
Fingal County Council has proposed a mixed-use commercial, community and residential development, with the River Bracken at its heart.
The plan is to link Millpond Park to a new park entrance at 14 Bridge Street to facilitate a pedestrian and cyclist route down to the transformed Quay Street and Harbour area.
Building facades on Bridge Street are to be maintained to preserve the existing street line. De Bruns is located in an Architectural Conservation Area.
The Integrated Design Team for De Bruns will consider the next stages of its development with local input.
“The aim is to create a town centre development, facing the park and Bracken River which is vibrant and family friendly,” said Valerie Mulvin of McCullough Mulvin.
According to Dr David Begg, Chairperson of the Our Balbriggan Leadership Group, the process will be marked by intensive engagement.
“There will be significant and intensive consultation and engagement through workshops and meetings with a wide range of local stakeholders,” he said.
Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Adrian Henchy, said when complete, the development will provide a new main street experience for Balbriggan.
“It will prove a focal point for economic, social and leisure opportunities in the town,” he said.
A temporary pocket park nearby at the old Keeling’s site, opened in late 2023, has already proved popular with local and visitors alike.
It is envisaged planning permission for the redevelopment of the De Bruns site will be sought in 2025, with the project completed in 2028.
The planned green corridor will extend from the top of Millpond Park behind St Peter and St Paul’s Church, linking with the Harry Reynolds Road, connecting to a new permanent park entrance at the 14 Bridge Street/Quay Street Junction.
Pedestrian and bicycle traffic will flow down to a transformed Quay Street public plaza, harbour and beach.
Demolition work has already taken place adjacent to and at the rear of the De Bruns site.
Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, AnnMarie Farrelly, said the appointment of an Integrated Design Team would give the people of Balbriggan an opportunity to have their say on the De Bruns project.
“The key message around the De Bruns IDT appointment is that there will be constructive dialogue locally around how the site will look and feel, as has been the case with projects at Quay Street, the Harbour and Dublin Street.”
The biodiversity and environmental, archaeological and ecological impact of the development will be keenly assessed.
