Docklands History:

Land reclamation:

The reclamation of large areas of mudflats on the north side and south side of the Liffey to create the Docklands, largely took place between 1717 and 1760.

On the north side, the North Lotts and East Wall area was fully reclaimed and the distinctive new grid street pattern, which remains today, was laid out by the 1750s following the construction of the North Wall. During the 1790s, the Custom House, designed by James Gandon, was completed and the adjoining Custom House Docks opened for trade. The Royal Canal, linking the new docks to the Shannon was completed by 1806. However, the new railway era in the mid-19th century resulted in both the demise of the canal and the expansion of the docks for both freight and passenger trade. From the 1850s onwards, the North Lotts became a busy international port including saw mills, cattle yards, vinegar works and associated industries.

The south Docklands developed in broadly the same manner as the north Docks. Between 1717 and 1760, Sir John Rogerson’s Quay was built and an extensive area extending approximately 1km from the City Centre to the River Dodder and southwards to South Lotts Road was largely reclaimed. In 1796, the Grand Canal Dock opened, attracting warehousing, grain stores and flour milling to the immediate locality.

The dry dock on the triangular peninsula between the Grand Canal Dock and the River Dodder was infilled in 1918. The industrial character of the south Docklands expanded during the 19th century to eventually include gas production, bottle making, sugar refining and fertiliser manufacturing.

Shipping activity had ceased in the North Wall and Grand Canal Docks by the 1990s.

More Recent Times:

In more recent times, the Custom House Docks Development Authority was set up in 1986 in order to secure the regeneration of the Custom House Docks. In 1987, the IFSC was established with Government tax incentives, eventually employing some 22,000 people. The Dublin Docklands Development Authority was created by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority Act 1997 to lead a major project of physical, social and economic regeneration in the East side of Dublin.

Since 1987, when the first specific regeneration agency was set up to co-ordinate and develop the social, physical and economic regeneration of the Docklands, some 765,000m2 of commercial space has been permitted and the population of the Docklands has grown from 17,000(1997) approximately to 27,000(2008) people, and is recognised as a major success.

In recent years, major digital, media, legal and financial services employers have relocated to the area. Significant cultural and event buildings have been constructed, e.g. the Convention Centre Dublin and the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, thereby extending the mental map of the city. On the north Docklands, a new Luas extension to The Point Village has been built.

In particular The Grand Canal Dock Planning Scheme 2000 (Amended 2006) has produced a successful new urban quarter around the Grand Canal Dock, including An Bord Gáis Theatre Hub, a vibrant residential/commercial mixed-use zone, and the attraction of digital media industry to the area (e.g. Google).

The Dublin Docklands Development Authority was wound up in 2014 with resposibility for the development of the area handed over to Dublin City Council.

Current Development

On 16 May 2014 An Bord Pleanála approved the “North Lotts & Grand Canal Dock Strategic Development Zone Planning Scheme” (link here).

Part IX of the Planning and Development Act 2000-2011 provides for the designation of a Strategic Development Zone(SDZ) to facilitate development which, in the opinion of the Government, is of economic or social importance to the State.

The Government designated lands at North Lotts and Grand Canal Docks in the Dublin Docklands as a site for an SDZ on 18 December 2012 and specified Dublin City Council as the Development Agency

The SDZ designation, as proposed by Dublin City Council, follows the Government’s decision in May 2012, to wind up the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA), but with a simultaneous commitment to ensure the continued regeneration of the Docklands Area. The SDZ designation provides for a continued fast-track planning mechanism so as to maintain the focus on the social and economic regeneration of the area.

The SDZ, as a holistic plan-led approach with fast-track planning procedures, is an appropriate mechanism to sustain the good work and significant achievements of the DDDA in terms of regenerating a city quarter, successful urban- place-making, employment creation, community engagement and marketing the Docklands internationally.

The SDZ offers a coherent spatial and urban planning approach and is considered the most appropriate and effective mechanism to deliver the remaining parts of this area of economic and social importance to the city and State. The area represents a strategic land bank with economic, cultural, community and recreational assets in the city context and in the national context, a major employment hub and driver of the economy.

From the SDZ “The vision is that the Docklands SDZ will become a world-class maritime quarter with a distinctive Dublin character. It will be a model of sustainable inner city regeneration incorporating socially inclusive urban neighbourhoods, a diverse, green innovation-based economy contributing to the prosperity of the locality, the city and the country, all supported by exemplary social and physical infrastructure and a quality public realm integrated with the wider city”.