Projects

Planning secured for a transformative public realm regeneration project

Our role

• We were appointed by Louth County Council as the lead consultant of a multi-disciplinary design team to prepare innovative public realm regeneration proposals for a 1.89ha site within the historic ‘Westgate Vision Area’.
• We undertook detailed community and stakeholder consultation to inform the co-designed proposals and also led on presentations to councillors and the council’s senior management team.
• We co-ordinated and co-authored the EIA Report and Design Statement, managed and peer reviewed all design and EIA team inputs, produced the Planning Report and statutory notices/notifications, and compiled the planning application package.
• Working closely with the council’s Place Making and Physical Development team, we lodged the s175 and s177AE planning application to An Bord Pleanála in December 2023. We also led on, and submitted, a detailed response to submissions received by An Bord Pleanála during the statutory consultation stage of the planning process.

Results

• Planning permission secured from An Bord Pleanála on behalf of Louth County Council in February 2025.
• The overall objective of the project, which is part-funded under the Urban Regeneration Development Fund (URDF), a flagship initiative of Project Ireland 2040, is to act as a catalyst to support positive regeneration, compact growth and sustainable development in the Westgate Vision Area and the broader Drogheda Town Centre.
• The proposals will celebrate and revitalise Drogheda’s rich built and natural heritage, provide a network of ‘arrival’ spaces at key interfaces, introduce bespoke architectural and landscaping interventions, create flexible spaces to accommodate social, cultural, art and performance events, and enhance legibility, functionality, accessibility, connectivity and permeability throughout the area.