A Vision for Moore Street launched

"Moore Street is at the heart of the city’s history and culture and the traders are at the heart of its communities. The future of Moore Street must embrace the history and heritage of the area and the diversity of the community."

The Green Party has called for a vibrant market, heritage protection and cultural facilities, public housing and the greening, and traffic calming of city streets.

The Green Party has launched its vision for Dublin’s Moore Street Area. A copy of the document was presented to Minister of State Malcolm Noonan TD and it will also be submitted to Dublin City Council as part of the Dublin City Development Plan Review.

It has called for an Architectural Conservation Area to be prepared for Moore Street and its surroundings, and for mixed-use new development that is in sympathy with the area’s history and heritage.

It said that Moore Street and its immediate surroundings have suffered from decades of neglect. There is now an extraordinary opportunity to commemorate the past and permit development in sympathy with its surroundings. It said that central government, market traders, retailers, landowners and Dublin City Council must work together. It acknowledged the work undertaken by the Expert Group on Moore Street, the Lord Mayor’s Forum on Moore Street, the 1916 Relatives Groups and others. However, it now sense urgent action is required to halt deterioration and regenerate the area.

The Plan proposes the following:

• Commemorate and safeguard the 1916 legacy

  Heritage protection must focus on building and neighbourhood renovations and personal testimonies that bear witness to history on living streets

• Revitalise the Moore Street Market

  Dublin City Council must see street markets as an opportunity rather than as a threat to the area’s future.

• Enhance O’Connell Street

  Dublin City Council should appoint a Street Manager whose job is to improve the Nation’s Capital Street and rescue it from neglect and takeaways.

• Protect existing heritage buildings

  Dublin City Council should prepare a plan to restore Parnell Square to its former glory.

• Promote mixed-use development Planners must recognise that the days of large enclosed shopping centres are over. Instead they should focus on place-making and small-scale development that improves the public realm.

• Rethink travel and mobility

  No new car-parks are needed in the city centre. Walking, cycling and public transport are the travel modes of the future.

• Provide homes as well as shopping

  We are in a housing crisis. Any large development site must contain a significant share of public housing.

• Make Parnell Square a public park

  Now is the time to reclaim Parnell Square as a green lung for the city, rather than use it for car parking.

• Build near-Zero Energy Buildings

  All new construction must be built to an nZEB (Near-Zero Energy Building) standard.

• Recognise and Support New Communities

  Develop Moore Street, the market and the wider area with a consideration for the vibrancy and diversity that already exists in new communities that have made the street their own.

• Reclaim the Streets and Green the City

  Access for all demands a ‘Universal Design’ to movement on foot within the area to facilitate people who are young, old, and those with disabilities. Wider footpaths, more greenery and street trees with less parking spaces can foster social contact.

• Use Culture to fuel creativity

  Culture is key to the regeneration of Moore Street. Respect for the past and a fostering of market trading, and caring for our heritage can ensure a bright future for the area.