Greystones Harbour and Marina was developed under a public/private partnership between Sisk and Wicklow County Council. It has brought the community many benefits, including a new harbour and coastal protection works.

Greystones Harbour is one of the most exciting and innovative projects developed in County Wicklow. The project was delivered as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) originally established between Wicklow County Council and Sispar Ltd to regenerate the Old Victorian harbour area and extend Greystones town to include a new 16 acre public park. Sispar comprised John Sisk & Son and Park Developments.

The development comprises a new harbour, the creation of a new 230-berth marina, 5,500m2 of commercial units and 341 residential units as well as a new Club House and boats yards for Greystones Sailing Club and facilities for the other clubs using the harbour.

Public facilities valued in excess of €50m have been delivered.

When completed in 2023 it will also include shops and restaurants as well as the residential units and marina and harbour facilities.

The centrepiece of the development is its dramatic public square on the waterfront, which serves as a focal point for the town at the very heart of the old harbour area.

The final part of the construction of the Marina Village development known as Block D, with the adjacent public car park, commenced on site in early June 2022. The construction of the final apartments and commercial spaces is expected to complete before the end of 2023.

 

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History

The first mention of Greystones appears in a map of Wicklow in 1760. There, it appears as ‘Gray Stones’ (sometimes ‘The Gray Stones’). In 1800 Robert Fraser describes Greystones as having a natural rock stretching into the sea, creating a natural harbour. It was recorded at this time as having three half-decked vessels with eighteen men and thirty-one open sail boats, with eighteen men working the harbour. The images in this section are thanks to www.greystoneshistory.com



Greystones old harbour had fallen into disrepair since it was originally built in the early 1800s and required a major investment to bring it into the 21st century.

The project involved most aspects of marine civil engineering including dredging, reclamation, beach nourishment, rock armour, concrete armour, marine piling, underwater stone screeding, extensive diving operations, seawalls, coastal revetments, breakwaters and slipways all of which are designed to function at all states of the tide. The breakwaters are designed for a 1 in 2,000 year storm event.

Part of the project contained the remains of an old disused Wicklow County Council landfill. Significant project works included landfill remediation involving the removal of approximately 9,000m³ of existing landfill material and sealing of the landfill cell using a bespoke geo-synthetic lining system and spreading of cell capping material and landscaping and seeding to form part of a public park. Further works included protection works to eliminate future coastal erosion along the boundary of the old dump location.

1710 Map - before any harbour

1710 Map - before any harbour

Lifeboat House

Lifeboat House

Harbour 1810

Harbour 1810

Engineering for the Future

Arup carried out the design of permeable breakwater roundheads that reduce wave heights at the harbour mouth and the sustainable approach to dealing with rapidly eroding cliffs. These new coastal protection measures retain and protect the existing cliff walk in an area that has suffered the effects of coastal erosion.

Arup adopted the most sensible and cost effective approach of managing the natural retreat of the cliff, rather than trying to stop it. Beach nourishment was adopted in areas where the erosion would have been unsustainable.

Breakwaters and Marina

The main structural elements of this complex maritime project are two breakwaters with a total length of 530m. The team decided on a design that would minimise the amount of floating plants and would that way minimise the effect the weather had on the construction programme.

Arup therefore designed the breakwaters to be built using pre-cast concrete blocks. The seaside face of the breakwater is protected by a revetment made up of 3-6tn rock armour and 14tn antifer blocks.

As part of the specialist transportation planning and traffic engineering input, Arup undertook the traffic assessment and developed the construction traffic management plan and programme.

Community

Planned and completed facilities:

  • New clubhouses and facilities have been provided at the harbour for the Sailing Club, the Ridge Angling Club, the Sea Scouts, the Rowing Club and the Sub-Aqua Club
  • There are two new public slipways in the harbour
  • A new boardwalk was opened on completion of all the apartments
  • A public park to include additional public leisure amenities is opened
  • A site for a new Coast Guard station, to be provided by the Office of Public Works, has been included on the south breakwater of the new harbour
  • A total of seven fishermen’s huts have been provided

Key Links

FAQ

Contact

For queries in relation to public lighting, CCTV, slipways and general cleanliness of the marina area –health and safety or damage to the public walkways, drainage and the carpark please contact us below.

You can email the Greystones Harbour helpdesk team here.

If there is an emergency call 112 or 999 for the relevant service.

 

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