A council plan to revamp area around Victorian Fruit and Vegetable Market is out for public consultation

Dublin City Council’s draft plan to revamp the area around the Victorian Fruit and Vegetable Market in the north inner city is out for public consultation. 

The council plans to do up two small parks in the area – St Michan’s Park and Ormond Square – and to build two new small plazas at St Mary’s Abbey and Mary’s Lane, it shows.

As it stands, Mary Street Little would become a pedestrian zone after 11am. Cuckoo Lane, would get a surface upgrade so the part of the road that is currently tarmac would be paved and cars would be restricted to local access only.

Footpaths would be widened in places, trees and greenery planted, and better lighting installed, it says. 

Reducing vehicle traffic to one lane on Greek Street would create space for wider footpaths with trees and plantings to green the street. 

Social Democrats Councillor Ellen O’Doherty says it is good that the council is looking at improving the whole area around the market. “It's a golden opportunity.”

“I think in terms of urban development, regeneration, things like that, it has to be a holistic approach,” she says. 

Green Party Councillor Janet Horner said she finds the plans disappointing, though. It's mostly just plantings, she says.

She had asked council staff to look at making the council-owned surface-level car park opposite the market on St Michan’s Street into a recreational space. 

That idea hasn’t made it into the plans. “That is such a waste of space in the inner-city,” says Horner. “That place is crying out to be a sports pitch or a park.”

Council officials told her that it would need to be rezoned, she says. But its current zoning of "city centre" would allow recreational uses, says Horner. 

Said O'Doherty: “The plan is definitely not ambitious; I don’t think it's going to blow anyone's socks off. But I do appreciate the sentiment of getting the basics right.”

What's in the plan?

Works are underway to renovate the Victorian Fruit and Vegetable Market itself. On Wednesday, the old building was surrounded by scaffolding, wrapped with Purcell-branded white netting. 

"This project is progressing well, with procurement of an operator now the focus of attention after initial on-site works were completed. Completion of Shell and Core works is expected July 2027," says a July 2026 report, for the Dublin City Taskforce.

The plans out for public consultation at the moment concern the area around this.

Under the draft plans, the council would plant trees and other greenery at Chancery Street, Charles Street North, Mary Street Little, Greek Street and Ormond Square. 

It would need planning permission for works at Halston Street, Green Street and Little Britain Street, where it proposes to widen footpaths, creating space for public seating and planting trees and other greenery. 

It would also revamp St Michan’s Park, to bring it closer to its original design. “The public realm improvement works will enhance the setting of the historic St Michan’s Church and Park,” says the plan. 

Meanwhile, Mary Street Little would be pedestrian-only after 11am, meaning people could walk freely and safely from the Victorian market to traffic-free Capel Street.

At Mary’s Abbey, in front of the building that used to house the Complex, the council would install a small paved plaza, with trees and outdoor seating and upgrade the nearby lane, at Meeting House Lane. 

Small changes

These are minor improvements and she was expecting more, says Horner.

There are no major changes to traffic layout in the plan, she says. “For three years, they said they were having to revise the traffic movement."

Council plans to revamp streets around the Victorian Fruit and Veg Market - Dublin Inquirer

There’d be wider footpaths, more trees, more cycle routes, and new public spaces with seating.

Dublin InQuirerLaoise Neylon

Mostly though, she is frustrated about the car park left untouched. “That place is crying out to be a sports pitch or a park,” says Horner, “it has to have some community or social use.”

She imagines a park with benches, where people could sit and picnic, and children could play, she says. 

Or, the council could extend the sports facilities on the spot, she says. There's already a small astroturf beside the car park. 

“You could put a tennis court; there is no tennis court in the city,” she says. “There is a whole variety of things you could do there.”

O’Doherty says she understands the council wants to make the area a destination rather than a through-route. “The idea of trying to create a place where people stay and make it a destination in itself is definitely the right approach.” 

The small parks currently have low biodiversity and this is the council’s opportunity to address that, she says. “That should be a huge focus of the plan.”

She is keen to hear from residents and hopes that the council will take on board their submissions and listen closely to what they say. “I’d like this to be the floor, not the ceiling,” says O’Doherty. 

The public consultation runs to 6 November.