£30m performing arts centre proposed for Dublin docklands

THE development of a multi-million-pound national centre for the performing arts in the Dublin docklands is to be proposed by the Arts Council.

If approved by the Government, the revolutionary plan - which has been compared to the Sydney Opera House development - could cost upwards of £30 million.

The development would supply a range of facilities for theatre, opera, dance and musicals, suitable for both small- and large-scale performance, and would greatly enhance the infrastructure for the arts in Ireland, while also serving as an appropriate cultural project to mark the millennium, the Arts Council said in a statement.

Sources said it could have a significant physical impact on the capital, "shifting the city centre eastwards"

It is intended that the proposed development would form the centre-piece of "a new urban space", either on the Custom House Docks or the CIE site nearby, which would also include restaurants and car-parks.

It has already, provisionally, been incorporated into the new Dublin Docklands Development Plan, due to the published next week.

The draft proposal, approved by the Arts Council at a meeting yesterday, envisages the centre comprising three auditoriums. The largest auditorium would have a capacity of about 1,800, with another venue holding up to 650 people, and a smaller space with about 150 to 250 seats.

The estimated £30 million-plus cost could be raised from National Lottery funds, through incentives for the private sector, and from the Government.

In considering the proposal, Arts Council members were influenced by the success of the Point Theatre in creating large audiences for live performances, at a time when some city-centre theatres have been much less successful in filling smaller venues.

Announcing the proposal, Dr Ciaran Benson, the Arts Council chairman, said "such a project could have a very strong impact in creating employment opportunities in the community locally".