Council to launch a public consultation on how to develop George’s Dock

The council is set to launch a new public consultation soon, asking what amenities Dubliners would want at George’s Dock, on the square pit once earmarked for whitewater rafting. 

The council’s current city development plan says the site should be used for a public outdoor swimming pool – but councillors say that could change depending on the ideas sent in. 

Whatever is decided, Dublin City Council doesn’t plan to cover the costs. 

Instead, council managers wants a private operator to come in and deliver a facility or activity on the site, councillors say.

A report from the council’s Docklands manager, Shelly O’Riordan, seems to support this. 

One guiding principle is to “transfer the risk to the market or economic operator to ensure the cost remains neutral for the City Council,” says the report, issued to the council’s corporate policy group on 10 October. 

Three local councillors say that they still like the idea of having a lido at George’s Dock, but they want to hear from the public. 

“I’m interested in Dubliners’ ideas,” says Fine Gael Councillor Ray McAdam, the Lord Mayor. “It's important to hear what people have to say.”

McAdam visited the Allas Pool in Helsinki together with council officials. As well as saunas and swimming pools, the facility includes a seated outdoor venue, restaurants and a rooftop bar.  

The footprint of it all is about the same as at George’s Dock, said McAdam. “There is a lot of merit to it.” 

The CEO of the real estate development company Nordic Urban, which is behind Allas Pool, has said it plans to turn Allas Pool into an export product, opening one abroad every two to three years. 

“We have numerous ongoing negotiations for developing Allas facilities in new cities,” their website says, listing Cardiff among the new locations they’re working on.

Whatever the public wants, council managers say the council won’t be able to finance it, says Green Party Councillor Janet Horner. 

“They are fairly fixed on the idea, as far as I can see, on a private venture in this space,” Horner says. 

She worries that a privately operated facility could mean many locals from the north inner-city are priced out, she says, and wonders if there are grants the council could apply for. 

“I think it's closing it off at the outset to not look at public uses for the site,” she says. “We should be at least be exploring what they could be.”

Beyond whitewater rafting

After the council’s plan to build a whitewater-rafting facility and water-rescue centre in the dry dock bellyflopped about five years ago, council managers floated alternatives.

Councillors Vote Yes on Plans for White-Water Facility at George’s Dock - Dublin Inquirer

Before the vote, councillors quizzed officials and a representative from Dublin Fire Brigade about how much it would cost and who would use it.

Dublin InQuirerLois Kapila

In July 2022, they put forward the idea of a water-rescue centre with an outdoor swimming pool or lido.

But councillors said they preferred the idea of a lido without the rescue centre, and in January 2023, they heard a presentation by the Dublin City Lido Campaign.

Its vision, on the campaign’s website, shows a swimming pool surrounded by water. 

The lido campaign website demonstrates Dublin’s heritage of outdoor swimming pools and contains links to modern lidos, including in Helsinki, where they come with saunas. 

In February this year, councillors called on the council managers to get on with developing a plan for the site. 

At the time, other alternatives proposed by councillors apart from the lido included a park with water features, or an events space. 

Leonard Russell, the secretary of local football club, Sheriff YC, said that they wanted to see a football pitch, because there isn’t a full-sized soccer pitch in Dublin 1.

Although, by FIFA measurements, a full-size soccer pitch wouldn’t quite fit at George’s Dock.

Now the council has decided to put the question out to an open public consultation. 

The aim of any development should be “to unlock the full potential of George’s Dock, creating a flagship public space that is vibrant, inclusive, and future-ready”, says the council report.

“This transformation will foster culture, nature, community engagement, economic and tourism opportunities in the heart of Dublin,” it says. 

Modelling a lido

At the moment, the city development plan says that George’s Dock is to be used for a public outdoor swimming pool. 

This month’s report says council managers are open to other ideas, although it still favours a water-based amenity. 

McAdam, the Lord Mayor, says he is too. “I’m interested in what Dubliners have to say about the development of George’s Dock and the connection between George’s Dock and the existing community in around Sherriff Street, North Wall,” he says.

He would like to see an attraction that draws visitors to the area, he says. 

Social Democrats Councillor Daniel Ennis says he thinks the lido proposal is “fabulous”. But he also thinks residents and people who work in the area want a consultation process, he said.

A lido would take years to be developed, if it happens, Ennis says, so he would like something in the interim.

“We can’t wait 10 years to do something there,” says Ennis. “Short- to medium-term, I’d love a park, a green space, that brings the existing community together there.”

Horner, the Green Party councillor, says the council should assess what sports and recreational facilities are needed in the north inner-city.

 “At least to inform the conversation,” she says. “How many people in the local area can swim? How many use the current municipal pools?”

The council’s sports plan also commits to explore lidos and mobile swimming pools. 

Horner says that the council’s chief executive, Richard Shakespeare made, it clear in a briefing on 8 October that he doesn’t envisage the council borrowing funds to build out any proposed facility, and will need to find a private operator. 

The council is planning to borrow for other expensive projects, Horner says, including the redevelopment of the historic Fruit and Vegetable Market in Smithfield, major works to Dalymount Stadium in Phibsborough, as well as a new city library and plaza in Parnell Street. 

When it comes to George’s Dock, “there is no money in the capital budget beyond conservation works”, says Horner. 

Horner says that as far as she knows, the Allas Pool in Helsinki relies on bar and restaurant sales to make it viable.

The Allas Pool’s website shows a bar, a cafe, a restaurant, a sauna, and offers spaces for meetings and events.

Helsinki Allas Oy, the company that operates the pool, is in the business of “urban spa operations, restaurant and café operations, event and festival production, and space, event and marketing services”, according to a profile from the newspaper Kauppalehti.

In 2023, it had net sales of about €6 million, and an 11.7 percent operating profit, according to the profile. 

Visiting the Allas Pool costs €18 for an adult entry mid-week and €22 at the weekend. The child price is €10 during the week and €13 at the weekends. Tickets allow entry to the outdoor pools and the saunas. 

By contrast, it costs €8.50 for an adult to swim at the leisure centre in Ballyfermot, or €4 for a kid. Or €8 euro for a swim at the Swan Centre in Rathmines.