dún laoghaire harbour company

8,000 people visit Carlisle Pier Exhibition

The Harbour Company's exhibition of proposals to redevelop the derelict Carlisle Pier drew huge crowds to the Ferry Terminal building between January 30th and February 8th.

Four proposals have been short-listed by the Harbour Company and displays of these, including visual representations and large scale models were on display to the public to seek their views on the relative merits of each. The proposals have been designed by major Irish and international architects to comply with the zoning requirement for the site to have an "exceptional landmark building of international architectural quality". The planning criteria for the site also stipulate that each proposal must include a cultural attraction of national importance and significant public access with walkways and viewing areas throughout the site.

With the HSS out of service on its annual refit, the Terminal offered a spacious area for the exhibition and 8,000 visited the exhibition over ten days, with nearly 2,000 visiting on the final Sunday.

Nearly 1,700 comment cards were completed by people viewing the exhibition and an additional six hundred structured interviews were conducted by the research company.

The exhibition forms part of the Harbour Company's commitment to consult fully with the public on the proposed redevelopment and to seek comments and observations. The Company has commissioned an independent company - Behaviour & Attitudes - to research the public's views and opinions at the exhibition. All the views received will be assessed and will be presented in a report to the Board of the Harbour Company to help inform its decision on which proposal to select.
The four short-listed proposals will be evaluated by an Assessment Panel using the following criteria:

• Quality of architectural design.
• Compliance with the zoning requirements for the Pier.
• Benefit to the community from the proposed cultural attraction.
• Nature and extent of public access to the re-developed Pier.
• Timescale for the completion of the development.
• Financial return to the Harbour Company.

Any of the short-listed proposals eventually selected by the Board will require planning permission from Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council before construction work begins.

The Board of the Company expects to make a decision on a preferred bidder for the redevelopment of the Pier before the end of April 2004.