The Railway Procurement Agency is to offer a €150,000 prize to design a new bridge over Liffey Valley for Metro West, due to be open by 2014.
The bridge, which will display the "highest levels of design excellence", will carry the light rail system across the valley and must blend with the countryside.
The RPA said yesterday that some of the world's top architects had already expressed an interest in designing the bridge which will run almost parallel with the M50 motorway.
Metro West will run from Tallaght to Dublin Airport and link with Metro North at the Metropark stop, north of the M50.
The proposed route crosses the Liffey Valley, which is an area renowned for its wealth of ecological, archaeological and high amenity landscape value, the RPA said.
"This new Liffey Bridge for Metro West should be designed to make a prominent, yet still aesthetically pleasing addition to the Liffey Valley whilst enabling views across the Liffey to be maintained as far as possible," a spokesman said.
PAUL MELIA
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Showing posts with label liffey valley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label liffey valley. Show all posts
Friday, 16 May 2008
Monday, 27 August 2007
Liffey Valley to be turned into park stretching for 20km
THE HEART of the Liffey Valley is to be dramatically transformed over the next decade through plans to build a 20km park spanning the River Liffey that would link the heart of Dublin with Celbridge, Co Kildare.
The ambitious plan to develop the banks of the Liffey into Ireland's largest linear park is awaiting approval and funding from the Environment Department.
However, work has already begun on some sections of the project, a spokesman for the Office of Public Works confirmed.
The project, involving four local authorities, would see the banks of the Liffey transformed into a greenbelt with cycle and pedestrian paths along the river that would incorporate 14 "flagship" projects along the park route.
The concept was borrowed from the Lagan Valley Regional Park in Northern Ireland which features a 17.6km parkway that snakes along the banks of the River Lagan from the heart of Belfast to the Union Locks in Lisburn.
Eugene Keane, project co-ordinator at the OPW whose achievements include designing the interpretive centres at Newgrange and the site of the Battle of the Boyne, said the aim of the project is to create an urban greenspace rivalling that of our European neighbours.
"The essence of the park is already in existence, but linking it all together will create a far greater appreciation of what is effectively a green lung reaching into Dublin. By linking all these projects together, we can create an entity that defies administrative boundaries and would be the envy of other European cities," he said.
The centrepiece of the project will be the €6m restoration of the Anna Liffey mill, a former flour mill in the heart of the Strawberry Beds near Lucan. The first project would see Dublin City Council extend the Liffey boardwalk to Heuston Station, followed by plans to build a 40-metre pedestrian bridge at Chapelizod that would link up with a new riverside park near Islandbridge.
The site would also feature a new entrance to the National War Memorial Gardens at Islandbridge, as well as a link to the gardens via a new bridge from the Phoenix Park.
A new riverside park will also be created in Celbridge, while the riverbank in the heart of Leixlip will get improved pedestrian access. The nearby Lucan Demesne will be linked up with St Catherine's Park by another pedestrian bridge. Other projects include the restoration of the historic Guinness bridge near Palmerstown. While the project will be subject to approval from the Department of the Environment, other hurdles include wrestling some of the land in question from owners and developers who own sizeable chunks of the land bank near the Anna Liffey mill site.
Irish Independent
The ambitious plan to develop the banks of the Liffey into Ireland's largest linear park is awaiting approval and funding from the Environment Department.
However, work has already begun on some sections of the project, a spokesman for the Office of Public Works confirmed.
The project, involving four local authorities, would see the banks of the Liffey transformed into a greenbelt with cycle and pedestrian paths along the river that would incorporate 14 "flagship" projects along the park route.
The concept was borrowed from the Lagan Valley Regional Park in Northern Ireland which features a 17.6km parkway that snakes along the banks of the River Lagan from the heart of Belfast to the Union Locks in Lisburn.
Eugene Keane, project co-ordinator at the OPW whose achievements include designing the interpretive centres at Newgrange and the site of the Battle of the Boyne, said the aim of the project is to create an urban greenspace rivalling that of our European neighbours.
"The essence of the park is already in existence, but linking it all together will create a far greater appreciation of what is effectively a green lung reaching into Dublin. By linking all these projects together, we can create an entity that defies administrative boundaries and would be the envy of other European cities," he said.
The centrepiece of the project will be the €6m restoration of the Anna Liffey mill, a former flour mill in the heart of the Strawberry Beds near Lucan. The first project would see Dublin City Council extend the Liffey boardwalk to Heuston Station, followed by plans to build a 40-metre pedestrian bridge at Chapelizod that would link up with a new riverside park near Islandbridge.
The site would also feature a new entrance to the National War Memorial Gardens at Islandbridge, as well as a link to the gardens via a new bridge from the Phoenix Park.
A new riverside park will also be created in Celbridge, while the riverbank in the heart of Leixlip will get improved pedestrian access. The nearby Lucan Demesne will be linked up with St Catherine's Park by another pedestrian bridge. Other projects include the restoration of the historic Guinness bridge near Palmerstown. While the project will be subject to approval from the Department of the Environment, other hurdles include wrestling some of the land in question from owners and developers who own sizeable chunks of the land bank near the Anna Liffey mill site.
Irish Independent
Thursday, 5 July 2007
Winner and loser on Metro
LIFFEY Valley Shopping Centre is to win and Lucan to lose when the route of Metro West is announced today.
The Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) is expected to announce this afternoon that the capital's latest rail project will run from Tallaght via Clondalkin before linking up with Metro North near Ballymun.
It is believed that the RPA has chosen a route which starts in Tallaght. It will serve Tallaght village, Clondalkin town centre, Liffey Valley Shopping Centre and Blanchardstown town centre and Abbotstown, before linking up with Metro North south of Dublin airport. It will run for 28km and is expected to be complete by 2014.
Irish Independent
The Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) is expected to announce this afternoon that the capital's latest rail project will run from Tallaght via Clondalkin before linking up with Metro North near Ballymun.
It is believed that the RPA has chosen a route which starts in Tallaght. It will serve Tallaght village, Clondalkin town centre, Liffey Valley Shopping Centre and Blanchardstown town centre and Abbotstown, before linking up with Metro North south of Dublin airport. It will run for 28km and is expected to be complete by 2014.
Irish Independent
Monday, 11 June 2007
The team behind Liffey Valley
The Mahon Tribunal’s investigations centre on the relationships and deals that ultimately led to the building of the massive Liffey Valley Shopping Centre in west Dublin.
The centre has proved to be a money-spinner for its joint owners, Cork businessman Owen O’Callaghan and Grosvenor Holdings, a property company owned by the Duke of Westminster. The centre is run through a company called Barkhill, which has its registered address in Cork, but its holding company is Grosvenor Overseas Holdings in London.
The latest accounts for Barkhill show that it made a pre-tax profit of €2.4 million in the financial year to the end of March last year. The company had turnover of €17.4 million from selling development properties at Liffey Valley.
‘‘The company owns a major site at Liffey Valley, Clondalkin, Co Dublin, and has already sold a significant part of the site for shopping centre development,” according to the accounts. ‘‘The company intends to develop the remainder of the site.”
At the end of the financial year, Barkhill had an accumulated profit of €46.5 million and more than €3.1 million in cash on its balance sheet. It was owed €45.6 million by debtors, including €27.3 million from subsidiaries, €9 million from its parent company and €9 million from related parties controlled by O’Callaghan.
The Mahon Tribunal’s investigation into whether Barkhill was involved in payments to politicians is noted under the heading of ‘contingencies’ in the company’s accounts.
‘‘The financial implications, if any, for the company cannot be ascertained until such time as the tribunal completes its investigations,” according to the accounts.
‘‘However, the directors do not believe that any provision is required in the financial statements in respect of this matter.”
The accounts are audited by Deloitte in Dublin, which noted the contingency, but said its opinion was ‘‘not qualified in this respect’’.
Earlier this year, it was reported that O’Callaghan was in talks with South Dublin County Council to double the size of the Liffey Valley shopping centre. The shopping centre already has 320,000 square feet of retail floor space, making it one of the biggest in the country.
O’Callaghan’s other interests include the €500 million Mahon Point shopping centre in Cork. His company, O’Callaghan Properties, is also working on a major retail development on Academy Street in Cork city.
The latest Sunday Times Rich List ranks O’Callaghan as the 75th richest person in Ireland, with an estimated wealth of stg£120 million (€176.8 million).
However, property sources believe that the list underestimates O’Callaghan’s full wealth.
Sunday Business Post
The centre has proved to be a money-spinner for its joint owners, Cork businessman Owen O’Callaghan and Grosvenor Holdings, a property company owned by the Duke of Westminster. The centre is run through a company called Barkhill, which has its registered address in Cork, but its holding company is Grosvenor Overseas Holdings in London.
The latest accounts for Barkhill show that it made a pre-tax profit of €2.4 million in the financial year to the end of March last year. The company had turnover of €17.4 million from selling development properties at Liffey Valley.
‘‘The company owns a major site at Liffey Valley, Clondalkin, Co Dublin, and has already sold a significant part of the site for shopping centre development,” according to the accounts. ‘‘The company intends to develop the remainder of the site.”
At the end of the financial year, Barkhill had an accumulated profit of €46.5 million and more than €3.1 million in cash on its balance sheet. It was owed €45.6 million by debtors, including €27.3 million from subsidiaries, €9 million from its parent company and €9 million from related parties controlled by O’Callaghan.
The Mahon Tribunal’s investigation into whether Barkhill was involved in payments to politicians is noted under the heading of ‘contingencies’ in the company’s accounts.
‘‘The financial implications, if any, for the company cannot be ascertained until such time as the tribunal completes its investigations,” according to the accounts.
‘‘However, the directors do not believe that any provision is required in the financial statements in respect of this matter.”
The accounts are audited by Deloitte in Dublin, which noted the contingency, but said its opinion was ‘‘not qualified in this respect’’.
Earlier this year, it was reported that O’Callaghan was in talks with South Dublin County Council to double the size of the Liffey Valley shopping centre. The shopping centre already has 320,000 square feet of retail floor space, making it one of the biggest in the country.
O’Callaghan’s other interests include the €500 million Mahon Point shopping centre in Cork. His company, O’Callaghan Properties, is also working on a major retail development on Academy Street in Cork city.
The latest Sunday Times Rich List ranks O’Callaghan as the 75th richest person in Ireland, with an estimated wealth of stg£120 million (€176.8 million).
However, property sources believe that the list underestimates O’Callaghan’s full wealth.
Sunday Business Post
Sunday, 14 January 2007
Will South Dublin allow Liffey Valley shopping centre to double in size
Story in the Business and Money section of The Sunday Times by Mark Paul on the possible expansion of Liffey Valley shopping centre.
THE property tycoon Owen O’Callaghan is in talks with South Dublin county council to double the size of Dublin’s Liffey Valley shopping centre. It brings the total of new shopping centre space planned for the greater Dublin area to 4m sq ft. O’Callaghan hopes to receive planning permission before the end of the year. The Cork-based developer wants to build a €500m extension to the centre with work to begin on the 180-acre site in 2008.
Liffey Valley is already one of the biggest shopping centres in Dublin, with retail floor space of about 320,000 sq ft. O’Callaghan said he hopes to add at least the same amount of shopping space again and is working on a masterplan for the site with council officials.
“We hope to reach a deal with the council in 2007 and if we do, then work will begin after Christmas,” he said. “The discussions are going well but it is still too early to say what the outcome might be. But we are hopeful we will get the go-ahead for the scale of development we want.”
The Liffey Valley expansion will form part of an explosion of retail space in the Dublin area. Expansions are planned at the Arnotts development in the city centre, Stillorgan shopping centre, the second phase of Dundrum shopping centre and up to 1m sq ft of new shops at The Square in Tallaght.
Liffey Valley was built at Quarryvale, in west Dublin, in the mid-1990s and originally had its size capped.
However, the land was re-zoned for a new “town centre” development by the council in 2004, paving the way for the latest planned expansion.
Treasury Holdings, owned by Johnny Ronan and Richard Barrett, has also been seeking permission for a similar-sized development on nearby land at Balgaddy, but its plans have been shot down by An Bord Pleanala. O’Callaghan had objected to the Treasury plan.
O’Callaghan owns the Liffey Valley centre through a company called Barkhill, which is a joint venture with Grosvenor Holdings, a property company owned by the Duke of Westminster.
Recently filed accounts show that Barkhill sold buildings on the site for €17.3m last year and it transferred development land to one of its own subsidiaries for a further €14m, making a pre-tax profit of €2.5m.
O’Callaghan also owns the €500m Mahon Point shopping centre, which opened in 2005, and the Merchants Quay centre in Cork.
Cork city council granted permission for this Academy Street project last month.
THE property tycoon Owen O’Callaghan is in talks with South Dublin county council to double the size of Dublin’s Liffey Valley shopping centre. It brings the total of new shopping centre space planned for the greater Dublin area to 4m sq ft. O’Callaghan hopes to receive planning permission before the end of the year. The Cork-based developer wants to build a €500m extension to the centre with work to begin on the 180-acre site in 2008.
Liffey Valley is already one of the biggest shopping centres in Dublin, with retail floor space of about 320,000 sq ft. O’Callaghan said he hopes to add at least the same amount of shopping space again and is working on a masterplan for the site with council officials.
“We hope to reach a deal with the council in 2007 and if we do, then work will begin after Christmas,” he said. “The discussions are going well but it is still too early to say what the outcome might be. But we are hopeful we will get the go-ahead for the scale of development we want.”
The Liffey Valley expansion will form part of an explosion of retail space in the Dublin area. Expansions are planned at the Arnotts development in the city centre, Stillorgan shopping centre, the second phase of Dundrum shopping centre and up to 1m sq ft of new shops at The Square in Tallaght.
Liffey Valley was built at Quarryvale, in west Dublin, in the mid-1990s and originally had its size capped.
However, the land was re-zoned for a new “town centre” development by the council in 2004, paving the way for the latest planned expansion.
Treasury Holdings, owned by Johnny Ronan and Richard Barrett, has also been seeking permission for a similar-sized development on nearby land at Balgaddy, but its plans have been shot down by An Bord Pleanala. O’Callaghan had objected to the Treasury plan.
O’Callaghan owns the Liffey Valley centre through a company called Barkhill, which is a joint venture with Grosvenor Holdings, a property company owned by the Duke of Westminster.
Recently filed accounts show that Barkhill sold buildings on the site for €17.3m last year and it transferred development land to one of its own subsidiaries for a further €14m, making a pre-tax profit of €2.5m.
O’Callaghan also owns the €500m Mahon Point shopping centre, which opened in 2005, and the Merchants Quay centre in Cork.
Cork city council granted permission for this Academy Street project last month.
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