Dublin City Council unveils plans for multi-million euro traffic free College Green Plaza

Sarah Slater

Dublin City Council has unveiled plans for its multi-million euro traffic free plaza at College Green.

The project, estimated to have risen in cost to €80 million, is aiming to transform the public space into what the council calls, “a compelling (and) attractive destination for everyone”.

The plaza, which was mooted eight years ago when planning permission was first sought, is at the 'very early stages’ of development, the council in a statement said.

“This is a very exciting project for the city of Dublin and we encourage all those interested in helping to inform what it looks like to participate in the online consultation,” the statement continued.

Extensive consultation is underway with a wide range of stakeholders to help inform the design.

The council’s project team is working toward the completion of the preliminary design by the end of this year, with a view to submitting a planning application by early 2026.

The project is significantly broader in scope, scale and ambition than the initial project brought to planning in 2017.

“It also has the benefit of driving significant and impactful changes for the area as it will capitalise on the opportunities for the space that will be realised by the National Transport Authority’s (NTA) network redesign, which will remove all buses from College Green on a phased basis,” the council noted.

A preliminary cost estimate for the project is €80 million, however the budget for the project will be reviewed and refined when the preliminary design is completed according to council management.

The original figure mentioned in 2017 was €10 million. However, in November of the following year, then An Bord Pleanála, refused permission citing the potential for “significantly negative impacts” on bus services.

The the online consultation which can be found here.