Planning award for Council
By William O'Connor
A WALKING and cycling project for schools in Ballyboden has won an award for Smart Travel at this year’s National Planning Awards.
South Dublin County Council won the Award for its Walking and Cycling to School Pilot Project in Ballyboden because it highlighted the importance of getting local communities behind the project and putting theory into practice.
South Dublin Council also won a second award in the Planning for Climate Change category for developing a spatial energy demand analysis of the area.
The Awards were granted at the Irish Planning Institute (IPI) National Planning Awards in Dublin.
IPI President Deirdre Fallon said too often there can be more emphasis in smarter travel initiatives on simply providing infrastructure rather than working to find out how local communities view the alternatives of walking, cycling and public transport.
“In the project planners moved out of their offices to work proactively with school management and local communities in Ballyboden, listening to their ideas and then putting these into the design.
Other planning authorities would benefit from studying the ways that South Dublin County Council went about its work.”
Ms Fallon added that Council South Dublin County Council’s Spatial Energy Demand Analysis project provides an understanding of energy needs, energy efficiency and renewable energy responses across the commercial, residential and municipal sectors in the county which provides a template for local authorities in planning strategically to reduce carbon usage.
The Awards include an overall winner, nine category winners and a President’s Choice.
The overall winner was the North Lotts and Grand Canal Dock Planning Scheme by planners at Dublin City Council which is the biggest urban redevelopment and regeneration project in the history of the State.
Over 60% of the plan area is now benefitting from permissions granted giving a sustainable vision to this major part of the city.
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