Metro key to Fingal's development plans

Planning&Development Dublin's fastest growing region - Fingal - has made the proposed metro rail link to Dublin Airport and Swords central to its latest development plan, writes Tim O'Brien, Regional Development Correspondent

Fingal County Council, the capital's fastest growing region, has said plans for the extension of the airport metro to Swords are "central" to its development vision for the area.

Should the extension to Swords be included in the Minister for Transport's already overdue 10-year transport strategy - and there is every indication that the public private partnership (PPP) project will be - vast tracts of land for industrial and residential development will be opened up.

The Fingal County Development Plan 2005 to 2011, which is to be formally launched over the coming weeks, also envisages key developments at a number of points across the region. These include:

a strategic development zone (SDZ) to fast track building at Hansfield, south of Blanchardstown

consolidation of Balbriggan, Blanchardstown and Swords as major centres of the region

a rise in population in Fingal from 196,223 people in 2002, as counted by the last census, to 260,000 in 2010

the prevention of urban sprawl in coastal areas, including Howth, Sutton, Baldoyle, and Malahide.

In commercial terms, possibly the most exciting development proposed is the 24-acre retail warehouse park which will house the Ikea retail warehouse.

But a delay over where exactly in the Ballymun area the superstore could locate may delay its much anticipated arrival and stall plans for a 500-job boost for the region.

A hierarchy of retail development has been adopted with the highest level of commercial density at Blanchardstown and Swords and a lower level at Malahide.

In the rural area of the county, the highest levels of commercial density are to be at Balbriggan and Skerries.

Areas deemed to be suitable for smaller "village-style" development include Lusk, Rush, Blanchardstown village, Mulhuddart, Clonsilla, Castleknock, Howth and Portmarnock.

In terms of housing, the county development plan envisages about 1,630 hectares of land covering about 52,355 new homes being available with the addition of the new plan.

That works out at about 10,000 new homes per year between now and 2010 - a considerable amount when the national housing output has just peaked at 80,000 new homes per year.

Most of this housing is, according to senior planner Séan Ó'Faircheallaigh, to be developed in the major towns of Balbriggan, Blanchardstown and Swords with some availability in Baldoyle and Portmarnock remaining from the former development plan. There are "bits" in Malahide, Rush and Lusk but just a small amount of development planned for Skerries, he said.

What could make the huge difference to Fingal is the extension of the airport metro.

In February, Fingal County Council - in co-operation with Dublin City Council, the Dublin Airport Authority and the Railway Procurement Agency - made a submission to the Department of Transport on the necessity for the metro link.

The submission highlights the importance of the metro for the future viability of the airport and the importance of such a link for a vibrant Dublin city centre. However, it also demonstrates how it would ensure "smart growth in Fingal" if extended to Swords.

According to the county council, "this is crucial given that Fingal is the fastest growing area in Dublin".

In drafting the Fingal County Development Plan 2005-2011, the metro has been identified as central to the proper planning and development of the county and greater Dublin.