CAMPAIGN HISTORY
2016
Building a community support network
Imagine Dundrum’s first priority was to develop a strong and well-informed vision for the future of the Village, and then present it to the local community. A series of meetings started an ongoing engagement with supportive local people, residents’ associations, businesses and organisations in and around Dundrum.
Imagine Dundrum joined the County-wide Public Participation Network, and have presented our ideas to a wider audience.
As soon as possible, we met with our local representatives – County Councillors and TDs – to outline our campaign and ask for their support.
Dialogue with major stakeholders
Early on, Imagine Dundrum introduced our group and its vision for Dundrum to senior Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Council officials, and we are in regular contact with them. We also introduced the group to Hammerson, the developers of the old Shopping Centre site, and a series of conversations, exchanging information and views, have taken place since then.
2017
Proposal for a Main Street Architectural Conservation Area
Imagine Dundrum, using expert advice and information about the built heritage of Main Street, submitted a formal proposal to Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council for its designation as an Architectural Conservation Area. The draft DLR County Development Plan 2022-28, published in January 2021, takes up this proposal.
1,000 voices campaign
Imagine Dundrum members set out to gather 1,000 signatures from local people in support of its ‘Fundamental Design and Planning Principles for the Future Dundrum’. We reached our target and well beyond, and hope now to collect more signatures online to show the level of local support.
Dundrum Arts and Cultural Festival
In 2017, 2018 and 2019, Imagine Dundrum took a stall during the Festival, a perfect opportunity to meet our local friends and neighbours and promote our campaign.
UCD School of Architecture project
Masters students from the UCD School of Architecture carried out a year-long design project exploring new ways to increase housing in and around Dundrum Village. Imagine Dundrum took part in an ongoing dialogue during the two semesters, and our vision for Dundrum was expanded by the students’ innovative designs.
2018
Cherishing our heritage: publication of Main Street: A History of the Heart of Dundrum.
This illustrated history, designed to showcase the rich architectural heritage of the street and to support Imagine Dundrum’s proposal for a Main Street Architectural Conservation Area, was authored by group member and local historian John Lennon. Josepha Madigan, Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and our local TD, launched it in Holy Cross Church in March 2018 at an event attended by more than 160 local people. Read the full news post here.
Placemaking with children and young people
With the support of the Irish Architecture Foundation, imagine Dundrum members held walking tours and workshops to ask local schoolchildren’s views on the future of Dundrum. We continue to press for the needs of children and young people to be foregrounded in planning processes and decisions.
Consulting people with disabilities
Group members organised a wide-ranging consultation with local people about the issues and challenges they face in Dundrum Village.
“Open House” 2018
The Irish Architecture Foundation invited Imagine Dundrum to participate this year. Our local historian and group member John Lennon, gave a talk and conducted a walking tour of Dundrum, while a family workshop in Holy Cross church brought young children and their parents together to picture their ideas for the future of the Village.
A Local Area Plan for Dundrum: submission to the initial consultation
The consultations with children, families and people with disabilities are all reflected in Imagine Dundrum’s detailed submission to Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council’s pre-draft consultation for a Local Area Plan for Dundrum (which in Februry 2021 is still to be published!). The document covers urban design and placemaking, heritage protection, traffic management along with walking and cycling facilities, social and community facilities, open space and recreation, housing, retail development and environmental infrastructure.
2019
Public meeting on the Local Area Plan for Dundrum
All of the ideas in the Imagine Dundrum document were outlined at a public meeting at the start of 2019, intended both to inform local people about Imagine Dundrum’s thinking, and to encourage their individual submissions. A record number (over 150) were received by the Council!
Bank of Ireland National Enterprise Towns awards
The Dundrum Bank of Ireland coordinated a team including Imagine Dundrum, Airfield, Ballinteer Mens’ Sheds, Dundrum 2030, the Dundrum Town Centre and others, to enter this annual competition – and it won first prize in its population category! A great opportunity to link with the other groups and spread the word about our campaign.
A Community, Cultural and Civic Action Plan for Dundrum
When the County Council commissioned consultants to carry out an audit of Dundrum’s community facilities and services, Imagine Dundrum made a strong submission advocating for a Civic Centre in Dundrum, with facilities matching its status as the second major centre in Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County.
2020
In spring 2020, the impact of the pandemic was felt on Imagine Dundrum’s work, with meetings going on line and planned public events – including a concert of music and readings to celebrate Dundrum – postponed.
Changes to Main Street – and Christmas lights
In summer 2020, as the County Council began planning public-health related changes to the street layout, Imagine Dundrum made contact with relevant officials, and met with them to discuss possibilities. The resulting traffic calming and reallocation of pedestrian, cycling and vehicle spaces has been well received by local people, and the Village has become more disability-friendly.
In December, funding from the Council helped Imagine Dundrum decorate Main Street with Christmas lights, showing how our Village can be a welcoming and attractive place for all.
“Dundrum Central” – a new neighbourhood for the Central Mental Hospital lands
This substantial new neighbourhood planned by the Land Development Agency on the Central Mental Hospital lands will have a major impact on Dundrum overall. Imagine Dundrum has disseminated information widely, encouraging local people to take part in the ongoing consultation process, and by early 2021 two meetings have been held with the LDA team to learn more, and to share our views and concerns. Further information at www.dundrumcentral.ie.
Imagine Dundrum Webinar: The Dundrum of Your Dreams – or an Urban Nightmare?
More than 150 people tuned in to Imagine Dundrum’s first webinar in late November 2020, when a panel of experts offered creative ideas for the future. We heard about redesigning urban spaces for people; including childrens’ needs in urban design; making Main Street disability-friendly; and involving all stakeholders in consultations and planning. Watch this recording of the event
