Building Dundrum’s Best Future: a webinar on heritage and sustainability, December 2022
60 people attended Imagine Dundrum’s third online webinar on December 6th 2022, all keen to hear where things stand with the Hammerson-Allianz planning application for the Old Shopping Centre, and looking to add to our understanding of both heritage and sustainability in the context of Dundrum.
The webinar was opened by Nick Armstrong of Imagine Dundrum, who confirmed that no decision had been issued by An Bord Pleanála, and no decision date had been set. In the interim, Imagine Dundrum’s commitment to its vision for the Village remained strong, and it was determined to make best use of the Ame by exploring important aspects of Dundrum’s future redevelopment, such as those chosen for this webinar.
Chair for the evening was Dr Paula Russell of UCD’s School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy, who has a special research interest in the role of community in planning. She spoke positively about Imagine Dundrum’s vision and its initiatives for influencing the Village’s future. She emphasised the importance of place-making and the need for ‘fine grain plans’ to provide context to communities and developers as urban areas like Dundrum change.
Deirdre Black, Heritage Officer with DLR County Council, brought the audience speedily through 10,000 years of Dundrum’s history up to the present, via a series of engaging maps, drawings and photographs. Her presentation concluded by identifying some outcomes likely to arise for Dundrum if certain options are adopted. Food for thought, indeed.
Dr Philip Crowe of UCD is a specialist in climate-responsive design and co-leads an EU project in Green Buildings and Neighbourhoods. Focusing on Dundrum, he explained the concept of “urban resilience”, why it is needed, and what it might mean in practice. His informative presentation added considerably to our understanding of the issues arising from current building practices, set against the background of our changing climate. This enhanced awareness can only increase the Dundrum community’s capacity to engage meaningfully in shaping future developments.
Dr Russell then ably managed a lively Q and A session, with all panelists contributing further valuable insights.
Finally, Anne Colgan, Chair of Imagine Dundrum, closed the evening by thanking the Chair and presenters for their generosity in providing their time and considerable expertise to the Dundrum community, sampling our further thinking on how best Dundrum Village should be developed. She felt sure that these insights would inform and strengthen Imagine Dundrum’s and the local community’s engagement with DLR County Council on the draft Local Area Plan for Dundrum, which is due early in 2023.
A video recording of the main presentations is available here.
You can read more about the event here and see the full programme here.
