PLANNING GO-AHEAD FOR GREYSTONES COAST GUARD STATION

WICKLOW County Council has granted permission for a new Coast Guard station at the south pier in Greystones.

The application was made in January by the Office of Public Works.

Last year, the project was delayed due to a re-design which held up the tendering process.

Planning permission was previously secured in 2018 with work expected to begin in 2019.

But in July 2019, the OPW said that it had yet to appoint a contractor and the latest re-design was still in progress at that stage. They said that the proposed building was similar to the previous design.

The existing station does not have toilets, changing facilities or showers.

The planned new building will include boat access to the water right at the slip.

The building will consist of a single storey boathouse/vehicle store with a flat roof and a single storey accommodation block with a mono pitch roof.

There will be a combined floor area of 259 square metres and a maximum overall roof height of 7.8 metres above adjacent public space.

Proposals include high level windows and three roof lights, proposed external finishes comprise fair faced concrete, zinc roofing and metal framed windows, a new vehicular access point to the north east corner of the site, three flag poles, one radio aerial mast and entrance signage, provision of eight car parking spaces on hard landscaping, and associated site works.

Works are expected to get under way in the second half of 2020 and take around 14 months to complete.

This will then allow for the refurbishment of Greystones Garda Station to get under way.

A previous scheme collapsed in 2016 due to lack of funding with the cost at €4.5 million.

Prior to that, it was originally planned that the station would be built the developers as part of the Greystones Harbour Project.

That project was stalled due to the onset of the economic downturn.