North City Operations Depot
Construction work on the North City Operations Depot is underway
Purcell Construction Ltd has been awarded the contract to construct the new depot and work on site is underway. COVID restrictions on construction were eased from 4th May 2021 allowing the Contractor to mobilise and commence construction. The depot site is directly opposite IKEA and Decathlon in Ballymun and the residential developments of Carton Way, Carton Lane and St. Margaret’s Halting Site lie to the south of the site, along with Ballymun Industrial Estate. The site is owned by Dublin City Council and was selected for a number of reasons including its accessibility to a good network of roads, appropriate zoning for depot use and it is a site designated for redevelopment in the Ballymun Local Area Plan.
NCOD Design
The dedicated staff-only depot facility will comprise of an office and welfare building with briefing rooms, training rooms, office accommodation, a serviced canteen, locker rooms, shower facilities, laundry facilities and drying room. Adjoining the office building, there will be a multi-storey car park accommodating over 100 small fleet vehicles and approximately 200 staff vehicles as well as 220 bicycle spaces. There will be a garage facility for parking of designated vehicles that require frost protection e.g. gully machines. The depot also includes a large salt barn with capacity for 1200 tonnes of road salt.
There will be a number of new operations workshops within the development including metal, painting, electrical, carpentry and fleet workshops as well as a signage and fleet branding unit. The fleet, paint, metal and signage units will all operate on a corporate basis. There will also be a purpose-built Central Stores. The yard area is divided into various zones including designated spaces for larger vehicles, a waste compaction area, vehicle wash area and equipment storage areas.
Civic Amenity Recycling Centre
The development also includes a new Civic Amenity recycling centre beside the depot – this recycling centre will be open to the public and will facilitate recycling of all the normal dry recyclables (including paper / cans / tetra pak / cardboard / glass bottles / plastic bottles), as well as other items such as electrical goods and bulky waste.
Benefits of the New Depot
The new depot will:
- provide high quality facilities for the City Council’s Direct Labour Staff that will enable them to operate safely, efficiently and effectively
- release existing depot sites for more appropriate development including the provision of circa 750 social housing units
- help the City Council to meet its climate action targets
- yield savings from reduced duplication and increased efficiency
- facilitate improved service delivery
- provide a major boost for the Ballymun area
- eliminate the adverse impacts of existing depots on residential amenity
Landscaping & Biodiversity
The proposals for the development include a range of landscape features which will greatly enhance biodiversity in the area including:
- a new attenuation pond which will encourage aquatic wildlife
- new tree planting scheme which will encourage breeding birds
- new wildflower meadow planting which will improve natural habitat for insects and pollination
Update on Construction Progress
Purcell Construction Ltd continues to make significant progress on site. The project has not been without its challenges. Purcell Construction were due to substantially finish in mid-November of this year but there have been some delays so the expected completion is likely to be early next year.
After construction is complete a period of time is needed for fit-out of the NCOD complex with furniture, equipment, information systems configuration etc. Once fit-out is complete the complex will be ready to open its doors to the staff transferring there from many existing Dublin City Council locations including the existing operational depots on the north side of the City, Civic Offices and Marrowbone Lane. It is expected that the NCOD will start to become operational in the early months of 2023.
See attached drawings for development location and layout
Contractor
Dublin City Council has engaged the following main contractor for the works:
Purcell Construction
Dublin Office
Office Block B, Hyde Square
654 South Circular Road
Dublin 8
D08 W9FD
T +353 1 471 3612
F +353 1 454 7292
Web www.purcell.ie
For further information or if any particular issues arise during the contract, please contact the dedicated 24 Hour Construction Response Line account established by Purcell Construction;
24hr Complaints Line & General Enquiries: 01 4825812
By email to;
Email: [email protected]
Or in writing to:
NCOD Community Liaison Officer,
Purcell Construction,
Office Block B, Hyde Square
654 South Circular Road
Dublin 8
D08 W9FD
Contractor working hours will be in accordance with the provisions of the Section 5 Planning and Development Act 2000-2002 (as amended). Normal working hours will be 8am to 7pm for construction works Monday to Friday but the site will open at 7am to allow access by staff and workers in preparation for works to commence at 8am and similarly 8am to 1pm on Saturday for construction works.
Acknowledgement
Dublin City Council apologises for any inconvenience caused and seeks the public’s understanding and cooperation during the course of these depot construction works