15.1.1.5 SDRA 5 Naas Road

SDRA 5 Naas Road

A local area plan (LAP) for the Naas Road lands was adopted by the City Council on 14 January 2013. The plan area covers approximately 100 hectares and contains a number of major brownfield sites. It occupies a strategic location on a gateway point into the city with good public transportation links to the wider metropolitan area.

The overall vision for this area set out in the LAP is as follows:

‘To create a great place to work and live, and create a new urban identity for the Naas Road lands area plan by regenerating existing developed lands as a sustainable mixed-use area, capitalising on the area’s locational advantages and improving the relationship of the lands to their immediate surroundings through improved linkages, green infrastructure and permeability. As part of this transformation, there will be an increase in the range of land-uses, and improvements in the visual environment, resulting in an increase in street level activity and the general revitalisation of the area.’

The plan contains four key re-development sites, namely:

Royal Liver Retail Park ­

  • Motor Distributors Ltd site (Volkswagon factory)
  • Nissan plant site
  • Site at Muirfield Drive/Naas Road.

Linking the re-development of these sites into the wider surrounding environment, and creating sustainable successful communities is central to the LAP. Detailed objectives for each site are contained within the local area plan, including provision for some mid-rise buildings (up to 50m in height). Within the key district centre lands of the local area plan, it is estimated that the lands available for re-development are capable of delivering c. 500,000 sq. m of mixed-use development over a 20+ year timescale, with an estimated 120,000 sq.m deliverable within the 6-year lifespan of the local area plan. This development is broken down as 15,000 sq.m retail, 2,500 sq.m community, 40,000 sq.m commercial, 12,500 sq. m industrial and 50,000 sq.m residential (approx. 500 residential units), all subject to detailed design considerations at the planning application stage.

With slow economic conditions since the LAP was adopted, the objectives of the LAP for the key sites and for the overall regeneration of this area remain to be achieved.