Building for the future in the

The road developments are regarded as vital for the county, which is a very highly commuted area caught up in enormous congestion.

The population of Greystones has doubled in the last ten years, and only 19pc of its residents work there.

The population of Newtownmountkennedy has more than doubled in the same period, and continues to rise with lots of new houses being built there, while only 27pc of Bray people work in their own town.

The plan also includes improvements to the N11/ M50, which will have a parallel road with an extra lane running along the west side almost to Fassaroe, and an extra lane some way on the east side. The intention is to reduce the current congestion at the two big junctions at Bray.

The new Luas line to Bray will offer further options for commuters, with park-andride facilities there and in Greystones, where all 500 spaces currently available are at capacity.

TRANSPORT is just one of the commitments outlined in the National Development Plan (NDP) for the Garden County. Like the railway track through Bray Head, another relic of the Victorian era of construction is the Vartry Reservoir, which is to receive a €150 million investment designed to ensure a safe and sustainable water supply for the north Wicklow and south Dublin area.

Located beside Roundwood, the reservoir consists of two lakes whose water is piped to a large reservoir in Stillorgan and serves approximately 220,000 customers. The plant was originally constructed in the 1860s and considering much of the ground and building work was carried out by men using picks and shovels, it’s no mean achievement that it