BACKGROUND

Genesis of the Village Ideas

Steeped in history.

Sandymount is an historic urban village in south Dublin which dates back to the 17th Century with an interesting history. It has a particularly well-developed sense of place despite being only 3km from Dublin City centre. It has a “seaside” feel, with a variety of architectural styles and renowned Village character, focussed around Sandymount Green. Much of its centre is an Architectural Conservation Area. 

In the region of 40% of Sandymount’s perimeter faces Dublin Bay, which is an accredited UNESCO Biosphere, with Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) and Special Protection Areas (SPA). 

The village centre is the hub of residential, local commercial and recreational activity with regular events for families and visitors. 

Since 1962, SAMRA (the Sandymount and Merrion Residents Association) has been working to protect, enhance and improve Sandymount Village and surrounding areas, Sandymount Strand and Dublin Bay, and influence matters that affect the local community and visitors.

It represents the Sandymount/Merrion geographic area, broadly from Merrion Gates to the south, approximately bounded by the DART line to the west and the Strand to the east, stretching to Bath Avenue/Church Avenue to the north. It has a residential population of approximately 9,000.

Sandymount Village Design Statement 2011

In 2010-2011, SAMRA and other residents’ groups, alongside experts in urban planning and design, Dublin City Council and The Heritage Council worked with the community to develop the Sandymount Village Design Statement to create a shared vision. Its main goals were 

• To protect and enhance Sandymount’s unique sense of place
• To improve the appearance, quality and function of the public realm
• To enhance community amenities

The Statement was comprehensive and widely welcomed. A number of projects noted in the Statement were delivered. These include the designation of a significant part of the village as an Architectural Conservation Area, the establishment of the Community Centre and the hosting of literary, cultural, and family focused events.

However, many projects have not been realised, mainly those seeking to improve the public realm.

The Village Ideas Project 2024 

In 2022 SAMRA sought to build on the Sandymount Village Design Statement, and other policy documents and develop a series of concrete and practical ideas to enable Sandymount achieve its full potential. 

Rather than focusing on a series of individual enhancements, it sought an integrated plan. In doing so, it sought to take account of the unique designation of Dublin Bay (of which Sandymount is a significant part) as a UNESCO Biosphere in 2015, and the Dublin City Development Plan 2022-2028

Community Grant Aid 

Thanks to a generous grant from the Dublin Waste to Energy Community Gain Liaison Committee, in 2023 SAMRA commissioned Grafton Architects, a world renowned and multi-award-winning Irish firm, to create an integrated holistic plan of ideas to enable this potential to be achieved.

Ideas to Reality 

While the ideas presented on this website are the result of detailed research and world-class expert input, they are not cast in stone. Their purpose is to act as a focal point for detailed conversations with the many key stakeholders (local residents and businesses, public representatives, Dublin City Council, and the relevant agencies) with a view to moving from ideas to reality without unnecessary delay. 

Progressing the Village Ideas Project to date has been overseen by the SAMRA Committee and steered by the SAMRA Village Ideas Sub-Committee (Lead: Niall McElroy, Karl Anderson, Ciara Arthur, David Turner and Audrey Hanley, and representing the Sandymount Tidy Towns Community Association: Rita Collins, Chair. Mark Wheeler was an active participant during the early stages.)

To ensure that it has the best possible opportunity to succeed in the medium term and enable meaningful engagement and cooperation between the multiplicity of stakeholders, SAMRA has adopted a three-staged strategy. 

Stage One involved the preparation of the Village Ideas Report. It is an integrated holistic plan of ideas for the village and its environs underpinned by international best practice in village design. 

Its development took 8 months and involved three phases: (i) the Research and Early Ideas Phase leading to the Initial Response from Grafton Architects, (ii) the Developed Strategy Phase and (iii) the Final Phase, the development of this Village Ideas presentation. 

It was completed to a very high standard by Grafton Architects with input from SAMRA and the Sandymount Tidy Towns Community Association. It consists of creative, functional and achievable actions and deliverables, and led by the community, will provide a solid foundation for unlocking Sandymount’s potential. 

These exciting ideas will become the basis for: 

• The enhancement of the physical appearance, experience and functionality of the village and its environs. 
• The enhancement of community amenities by improvement of the public realm. 
• Creating opportunities to generate and host a variety of cultural, heritage, educational and community events which will be open to all residents and visitors alike. 
• Improving the links between the village and the Biosphere, and developing the potential for understanding, appreciating and experiencing the Biosphere. 

SAMRA is confident that the ideas will successfully lead to its Stage Two strategy of informing the development of future public realm projects, that are both actionable and pragmatic. 

Stage Two involves a public engagement with Dublin City Council, local representatives, and the community to capture the views of all stakeholders (residents, businesses, public representatives and statutory bodies). This website is a central element of this engagement. 

Stage Three will involve implementing the preferred way forward by Dublin City Council. 

SAMRA is very grateful to Dublin Waste to Energy Community Gain Liaison Committee for funding the Village Ideas Project, to Grafton Architects for the commitment, enthusiasm, expertise and professionalism of its team in developing the Village Ideas, the Sandymount Tidy Towns Community Association and Dublin City Council for its encouragement and support in progressing these ideas. Samra also greatly appreciates the support of local Councillors and public representative.