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Newmarket Square Plan

A range of possible new uses and events are proposed for Newmarket in order to reintegrate it into the public life of the city. Creating new civic spaces or renewing older spaces is a key element of urban regeneration strategies throughout the world. Dublin City Council has recognised this and has taken a range of initiatives across the city to create new civic spaces such as the Broadwalk or to renew older spaces such as Smithfield. Newmarket, formerly a vibrant market place dating from 1673, is now little used but has great potential as a key civic space.

One of the central elements of this proposal is flexibility - to avoid imposing a rigid urban design framework now but rather to encourage a range of new uses and events and through this process to discover the personality of the space. In a rapidly changing environment, a flexible and adaptable approach will also allow for new needs and uses to be accommodated. The goals of the renewal process are:

• to create a flexible, adaptable public space that can change with public demand and perceptions or over time.
• to allow the overlap of different interests and with a minimum of conflict.
• to involve different interest groups in the renewal process.

The following is a list of possible uses and events:

• Theatre, Open-Air-Cinema
• Food Markets,
• Festivals
• Music events
• Car shows
• Trade shows
• Sports events

The Cork Street/Coombe Relief Road proposal had a negative effect on the area for many years but now that the road scheme is complete significant regeneration is possible. To encourage and guide this process the city council produced a regeneration strategy for the road corridor entitled "Recreating a City Street" and Newmarket has a critical role in this regeneration process. Already the area around Newmarket is changing rapidly, there are three large mixed-use developments  in the immediate vicinity and with a number of other significant sites coming up for redevelopment.

Infrastructure
In order to deliver this adaptable framework for Newmarket some development works and infrastructure provision will be necessary. The ESB substation would need to be relocated to allow for a new structure providing for necessary facilities and also providing a landmark and a prominent symbol of the renewal of Newmarket during its initial stages. Possible uses for the new building include café, administration building/office, storage area, toilets, mounting position for an outdoor screen etc. It would be desirable to have some removable benches, a removable stage, new public lighting and a canopy for shelter. Another important issue is management to ensure effective promotion and organisation of events, marketing and maintenance of the space.

Newmarket - One Space, Two Places
One outcome of retaining the ESB substation footprint in any regeneration strategy is the division of Newmarket into two places with different character and qualities. The west end could be the location for bigger events, like concerts or sports events. The smaller east end would complement the existing residential use adjacent to it with, for example, the provision of an outdoor café. In order to differentiate it from the west end it could be landscaped in a different way. There is an important relationship between the east end and St. Luke's Church and graveyard.