Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has unveiled its master plan for the development of Dún Laoghaire Harbour under the banner of “a harbour for everyone”. It is notably ambitious and aims to reconnect the historic harbour to the adjoining town which has declined steadily from its Victorian heyday.
The plan sets “guiding principles to reimagine Dún Laoghaire Harbour” and includes thirty separate proposals ranging from a saltwater swimming pool to a hotel. It says little about who will build which element and even more importantly who will pay for them, other than saying it will draw on diverse funding streams including several government infrastructural and development funds. There is no timeline.
The focus has quickly settled on one element – a proposal to develop an urban quarter on St Michael’s pier, the site of the former ferry terminal that closed in 2015, ending 200 years of ferry services between the town and Holyhead in Wales.
People Before Profit councillors have likened this element of the plan – which is prioritised for implementation – to selling off the family jewels. The presumption here is that the urban quarter – which envisions residential, office and retail use along with a hotel – will be attractive to the private sector.
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The masterplan is silent on the issue of private sector involvement. But it is obvious that there are some elements of the plan, such as the urban quarter, that lend themselves to private sector involvement and others – such as a proposed nature park – that will only come about if the State funds them in some fashion. The PPP councillors do have a point in that it is often the case that the private – for profit – part of this type of scheme tends to be delivered, while the public part is dragged out or fails to materialise.
It is important that lessons learned the hard way from previous projects are put to good use in any elements of the plan that rely on private investment, to make sure that there is value for money, and that the vital public elements also happen.
