BY Rose Barrett
Work commenced early last week on the construction of a new €1.5m all-weather sports pitch facility at Ward River Valley Regional Park in Swords.
The new third generation synthetic all-weather pitch will be a full sized GAA and soccer pitch similar to the facility at Bremore Regional Park in Balbriggan. The new floodlight facility will be accompanied by car, coach and bicycle parking to service the needs of pitch users as well as improving access to the park.
Haffey Sports Grounds Ltd are the designated contractors, following the conclusion of the competitive tender process. Led by the Council’s Parks & Green Infrastructure Division, it is anticipated that the facility will be completed by the second quarter of 2022.
Earlier this year, the limited removal of some screen tree planting took place to create space for the pitch and facilitate construction works, following public consultation and to ensure the retention of a landmark mature tree on the site.
Kevin Halpenny, Senior Parks Superintendent with Fingal County Council, said:
“In any project, there are a lot of steps that must be completed before we can get to construction stage and I want to thank the local councillors and stakeholders for their patience as we moved through the various stages.
“Following the development of the new Recreational Hub facilities, a major community tree planting project will add to the tree cover in this area of the park and improve the landscape setting of the Hub.”
Funding for the €1.5m project has been provided by Fingal Co Co and also by Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) to address a requirement for community gain that the airport authority is providing, as part of the development of the North Runway at Dublin Airport.
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