In Cherry Orchard, a park makeover moves closer – with a 400 metre running track, 500 trees, and more

Overall, the sense from workshops and outreach has been that there just aren't public outside spaces in Cherry Orchard that match the strong community in the area, said Suzanne O'Connell, a senior landscape architect with Dublin City Council.

The Cherry Orchard Community Centre – a hub which hosts all kinds of activities and classes in the west Dublin suburb, from toddler groups to indoor bowling – is really active, she said. But all that activity is inside.

"Potentially, with this park, it's really about kind of making visible within the public realm all of that energy of Cherry Orchard," she said. Creating that central gathering place, she said.

O'Connell's presentation at a meeting of the council's South Central Area Committee on Wednesday was the latest update on long-running plans that are about to move to the next stage.

The council hopes to kick off the formal planning process for the new-look park soon – "Say, kind of early July" – with, among many other changes, a 400-metre running track, new astroturf pitch, and more than 500 new trees, she said.

At the meeting, councillors pointed to how desperately the new version of the park was needed, especially given the huge numbers of new homes planned for the wider neighbourhood.

The Land Development Agency's (LDA's) Cherry Orchard Point development is planned to have 1,100 new homes, and the first phase is under construction.

Dublin City Council, meanwhile, is planning a mixed development with 171 homes, and a village centre with some shops – opposite St Ultan's school.

"It does give the people of Cherry Orchard hope for the future," said independent Councillor Vincent Jackson, who chairs the area committee's meetings.

"If ever an area deserved to get their day in the sun, it's this part of Cherry Orchard," he said.

Picked up again

As O'Connell ran through the latest version of plans for the new-look park in Cherry Orchard at the meeting, she talked about how feedback had been – and would keep being – taken into account.

Drawings now show a 400-metre running track, after input from the Cherry Orchard Running Club, she said. "It will sit within the landscape."

There's a similar style track in Dún Laoghaire at Kilbogget Park that has been really successful, she said, with a well-drained football pitch then in the middle of the loop.

Plans also include a new astro pitch, she said, which they want to double as an amphitheatre and performance space, for community events.

There'll be play areas throughout also, she said.

"It's about the all ages," she said. That includes thinking about teenagers, she said.

Her team also chatted with teenagers, who are among the most regular users of the park, she said, taking into account where they hang out and for how long – and their comments on the need for lighting.

The designs try to get rid of heavy fences, she said, and cut down on the hostile defensive infrastructure.

They also hope to add much more biodiversity, coordinating within the council on good long-term management and maintenance of the space, she said.

They'll let the Irish meadow establish, said O'Connell, and let things grow. "We'll have an opportunity to plant, perhaps, 500 plus trees."

Timelines and money

Whether all the funding is there for the park – a key piece of the puzzle – should become clearer in a few months time, said O'Connell.

The council has applied for €9 million from the central government's Towns and Cities Regeneration Investment Fund to pay for the park revamp, she said.

To qualify, they have to be building by September 2027, she said, "So it kind of creates a good energy to keep this project going."

While they wait for word on whether they will get that, they're moving on with the Part 8, she said, referring to the planning process that is used for council projects – which involves formal public consultation, and councillors voting on the plans.

Sinn Féin Councillor Daithí Doolan said that the project, and the engagement, has been great so far.

But could the council, as all this ticks along, still reinstate a temporary astro pitch, he said, to replace the one taken away last December.

The council tarmaced over the pitch, citing health and safety grounds. But "no other community would be expected to live without an astro," said Doolan. "It needs an astro."

It'll be a couple of years before the park is done, which is too long a gap, Doolan said. "Let's get the astro back in place."

O'Connell said that she and colleagues had been looking at how they can deliver the astro early, and the mechanics of that.

They're teasing it out, she said. "We haven't been sitting on it."