Coolegad Greystones - Cairns Development

it's a SHD (one of the last to go through that process) here's the website with plans etc: https://www.coolagadshd.com/

IDK if it's been approved yet.

I think WTF might be more appropriate. I wonder why the government feel it might be necessary to further incentivise the developers.

Shudder to think of the impact this would have on local infrastructure and services. On the otherhand I suppose these developments will help to ease the housing crisis.

the land was zoned residential many years ago, so it was inevitable it would be built on eventually. There's more zoned land behind Waverley but that's pretty much the last large landbank.

there are infrastructure improvements planned - improved Dart capacity, bus priority on the N11, school extensions etc, but they're all lagging well behind the housing developments.

the Dart plan involves doubling the track between Greystones station and the tunnel, and also on the Bray side of the head. this will allow a 20 minute frequency (up from the current 30 minute).

The N11 bus lane will be built in the hard shoulder, so no capacity reduction in the general lanes. those that are "forced" to drive will benefit if more people take the bus.

I believe once the extensions in St David's and TCG are built, along with the Community College's new building (funding was announced this week for that), there will be 3 1000-capacity secondaries in the town. I think a secondary school in Newtown is needed as well at this stage. Primary schools I'm not sure of, but I know St Patrick's is effectively doubling in size.

I agree with your general points. We do need more housing though the infrastructure invariably seems to come after. I think that's just the way it is in Ireland (and elsewhere in fairness), things get built when they're urgently needed, not before.

it remains to be seen what's in the forthcoming Dart+ plan but the expectation is it will include doubling all the bits of track that aren't in tunnels or on the cliffs - this will allow a 20 minute frequency which is a 50% increase in capacity (basically a Dart will be able to leave Greystones before the previous Dart arrives and they'll pass each other closer to the tunnel entrance). There's an engineering report on this option here

Longer term if they want to improve capacity beyond this, then yeah they'll have to bore a new tunnel, ideally a double tunnel under the Head and then abandon the track around the cliffs; but that's a very expensive project and hard to justify when so many other areas have no rail transport.

Wow, that site looks massive!! Does 'shd' above mean social housing development?

It seems the latest application to Wicklow CoCo. has been refused. It's still working it's way through the SHD process though.

Cairn must have gone crying to the Sunday Times because their business section had a front page story with absolutely no context about how 'Wicklow will be missing out on valuable homes because of the decision'.