Under Construction

This is Greystones Harbour which was under redevelopment over the last couple of years until
the developers ran into some difficulty with the funding, and so all work has come to a halt with the harbour area now surrounded by  builders's hoarding. The residents of Greystones are more than a little peeved at this situation and many meetings and protests continue to be held to try to, at least, have the hoarding removed and allow reasonable access to the harbour area.  Quite simply, the people want their harbour back!

It's Theme Day in the City Daily Photo community and today's theme is Under Construction.  Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Did You Know?

Well, the dogs on the street know!  The dog on the left looks wistfully back at this old and romantic picture of Greystones Harbour on the newly erected hoarding around the development.

Since our last visit back in November for the Developer's Open Day, everything has come to a halt and all plant, machinery and workers removed from the site.  We're now in NAMA-NAMA land - well,  NAMA, the National Asset Management Agency, now own the development loans for the project. The developers, SISPAR, have presented a business plan to NAMA for funding of the next phase, namely, the medical centre, 11 apartments, a car park and five community structures.  How this pans out will determine whether or not the hoarding could be removed and partial access to the harbour area allowed although some more work is needed before the harbour and piers are safe for the public.

In the meantime, because it's still a building site the hoarding has to stay, but we do have access to the main slipway!

Progress Revealed

Saturday morning last, the developers of Greystones Harbour, Sispar, invited all residents and interested parties to visit the site to see, first hand, the progress that's been made.

The developers distributed large aerial photos of the site to all and sundry and willingly answered residents' queries concerning current and future expectations for the development in light of the recession.

This all came about following a request from Greystones Town Council to Sispar to include the general public in this long running development.  We reported here about this in our last update at the beginning of October.

Judging by the happy and friendly banter amongst those present, it would seem that Saturday's PR exercise was a great success.

The Rickety Rail

 

 Nice fishing to be enjoyed in the cove next to the Greystones Harbour construction site below, which we discussed here in an earlier post, but, while the steps seem sturdy enough, I hope these gentlemen don't have to rely on the rickety rail!

Greystones Harbour Update

Despite being in Greystones, Co Wicklow on a fairly regular basis, I don't often venture down to the big Harbour development site  - it's almost completely shrouded in builder's hoarding - one has to sneak around and take whatever photo opportunity is available on a particular day, and this, I understand, is a bone of contention for the local residents who have been seeking more up to date information and transparency as each stage of the development progresses.  In other words, they would like to see what's going on!

Well, I'm not sure I know what's going on, but here are my latest observations and, looking back at my post from two months ago, it seems that the stage of the development I witnessed then was only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

Folks, this is huge!

Work in Progress

Good progress has been achieved in recent months on the Greystones Harbour project and the main elements of the harbour, the north and south break-waters,the shoreline works, marina quay construction, reclamation and new north beach are now substantially in place.  This has been achieved, according to the developers, Wicklow County Council and Sispar, despite site constraints which necessitated unique design and construction methods, and other issues such as weather and sea conditions. The first phase of the project is expected to be completed in September this year, with some of the remaining elements, public facilities and a Primary Care Centre, due next year.