10.2 - Achievements

The city’s Parks, Biodiversity and Landscape Services Division, continues to plan, design, maintain, and manage the city’s parks and open space resources to best serve the recreational, cultural, economic, environmental and social needs of the city. The first Dublin City Parks Strategy was published in 2019. Year on year, the city continues to achieve Green Flag awards for a number of city parks – including 11 Green Flag awards in 2020. These awards are an international benchmarking standard for parks and open space judged on horticultural standards, biodiversity, cleanliness, sustainability and community involvement. The 2020/1 Covid 19 crisis highlighted the value of our parks as safe places for exercise and social interaction.

The challenges associated with green infrastructure deficits, particularly within the city centre, are being tackled in recent years through the implementation of area-based greening strategies. The first greening strategy commenced in 2015 in The Liberties and, since then, two more have followed: North-East Inner City (NEIC) and Stoneybatter. To date, in the Liberties, new public parks have been developed - Bridgefoot Street Park (10,000 sq. m.) and Weaver Park (4,000 sq. m.) - and most of the historic parks in that area have been refurbished. Within the NEIC since its launch in 2019, the quantum of trees has increased by 20%. Through the Stoneybatter Greening Strategy, a co-design process has led the community to suggest 40 greening projects for the area.

Dublin City Council has prepared a Dublin City Habitat Map (2020), based on a comprehensive database of the habitats of the entire City, to inform and monitor planning and development. This has identified what types of habitats are found in the City, their locations, connectivity and importance.

Dublin City Council was one of the first local authorities in the Republic of Ireland to sign up to the ‘All Ireland Pollinator Plan’ (2015-2020), following on from initiatives over the previous ten years to create wildflower meadows. This has been supported by the gradual ‘wilding’ of parks, road verges and graveyards in order to provide habitat and food for insects and pollinators and through significant changes to planting schemes, which are now comprised of 80% of pollinator-friendly plants, changes in mowing cycles and the elimination of glyphosates from green space management. This work has been brought to the public’s attention through information campaigns and signage with the ‘Leave Them Bee’ tagline.

The development of the Metropolitan Greenway Network connecting Dublin Bay to the wider region / Dublin Mountains is progressing through the city. The completion of Phase 3 of the Royal Canal Greenway (Dublin City Section), the Dodder Greenway and the Clontarf to City Centre Greenway are currently progressing to construction. Phase 4 of the Royal Canal Greenway is currently being planned.

Across the city, the City Council provides a wide range of sporting, leisure and community services that supports communities to stay active and exercise in a safe, positive and accessible manner. Achievements include new/upgraded tennis courts at Bushy Park, St. Anne’s Park, Herbert Park, Rockfield Park, Artane and Courtlands and Whitehall; all-weather pitches and/or astro training surfaces at St. Anne’s Park, Bluebell, Kilbarrack, Rockfield Park, Clongriffin, Brickfields Park, Drimnagh, Donaghmede Park, Hertzog Park and Rathgar; new changing rooms have been provided/upgraded at Tolka River Valley Park, Finglas; Santry River Valley Park, Springdale; Poppintree Park, Ballymun, Markievicz Park and Ballyfermot. To encourage physical activity, the Council has provided new outdoor gyms at multiple locations around the city. These facilities and others represent a significant investment in local parks and provide first class facilities that benefit local communities.

The Dublin City Sport & Wellbeing Partnership (DCSWP) see Dublin City Sport & Wellbeing Partnership, led by Dublin City Council, was established to enable people living and working in the city to participate and engage in sport and physical activity to improve their health and wellbeing. The Partnership works with stakeholders to facilitate sport and physical activity to the city’s communities through the development and implementation of programmes, services and facilities across various demographics. DCSWP was pivotal in cultivating a relationship with parkrun Ireland that now sees the majority of Dublin City’s primary parks utilised every Saturday morning for adult and junior/family park runs.

In making the city more child friendly, new public playgrounds have been completed at Kilbarrack, Sean Moore Park, Sandymount, Le Fanu Park, Ballyfermot, Edenmore Park and Weaver Park, where there was an identified deficit of play facilities in the City Parks Strategy 2019-2022. Many other of the 65 playgrounds in public parks have also been substantially refurbished and improved for universal access and an annual programme of renewal is on-going. A new skate park and playground at Le Fanu Park, Ballyfermot is a particular highlight and success.