College Green Dame Street Project

Dublin City Council has published stage one of an international competition to procure an Architect Led Multi-disciplinary Design Team for the College Green Dame Street Public Realm Project.

The College Green Dame Street Project is the revised and expanded proposal to reinvent the historic College Green and Dame Street East area as a landmark public space at the heart of Dublin City.

The historic city core will be transformed; becoming an attractive pedestrian-friendly space that prioritises universal accessibility, social inclusion, sustainability, biodiversity and greening, while upholding and enhancing the history and heritage of this unique location.  

Under these proposals, the area from College Green to the junction with South Great George’s Street will become traffic-free, apart from timed deliveries and limited local access. The project will provide a world-class, multi-functional space, which complements some of Dublin’s most illustrious historical buildings, notably Trinity College and the Bank of Ireland, allowing more space for people to enjoy cultural and recreational events, celebrations and social activities. 

The College Green Dame Street Project objectives are:

• To provide a world-class, multi-functional public space, which complements the adjacent historical buildings,
• To remove all through vehicular traffic in an east west direction while facilitating deliveries,
• To create a high-quality, pedestrian-priority space,
• To support the City’s Climate Action Plan by prioritising sustainability and greening in the development of the design,
• To provide a safe cycle route,
• To support the local economy by enhancing footfall, and
• To use the principles of universal design to provide an accessible space for all to enjoy. 

Dublin City Council are now undertaking an international competition to procure a new Architect-led Multi-Disciplinary Design Team. The project will be co-funded by the National Transport Authority. 

Definitive timelines regarding public engagement and stakeholder consultation, planning submittal and delivery will be established once the Design Team has been appointed. 

In the summers of 2019 and 2022, Dublin City Council held a series of trial traffic-free events in College Green including ‘Summer Sundays’, ‘Culture Night’ and ‘Car Free Day’. The knowledge gained from these events has guided the Council in both reviewing the previous proposal and in preparing a revised brief for the project.

The reinvention of College Green has been a longstanding goal for Dublin City Council. This project provides an opportunity to create a safe, inclusive, accessible, public space for people of all ages to meet, relax and enjoy, and to achieve a greener and more liveable city. 

2018 Proposal  

In 2018 An Bord Pleanála (ABP) turned down the original proposal for College Green. In issuing their refusal, ABP cited key concerns relating to “significant adverse impacts on pedestrians and on bus transport within the city centre”, while noting it “considered that the principle of the proposed development is acceptable and that it would produce a quality public realm that would significantly enhance the amenity and attractiveness of this city centre”. 

Since the original 2018 proposal, the implementation of the Bus Connects Network Redesign project has commenced which will resolve key transportation concerns in this area and open up new opportunities.

Contact [email protected]