Dún Laoghaire Golf Club and another site in Cherrywood are the twodevelopment clusters set to revitalise the area. Tim O'Brien, Regional Development Correspondent, reports

Now that the battle to rezone extra land in Dún Laoghaire for housing is over the council can get on with its ambitious "revitalisation plans" for Dún Laoghaire - particularly the town centre - according to the council's senior planner, Mr Michael Gough.

The county development plan agreed recently will now look favourably on planning applications which "seek to reverse the trend of younger people moving out of the county, because of the high cost of housing", according to Mr Gough.

Two main areas of concentration will be the large Cherrywood area near Loughlinstown and Dún Laoghaire town centre itself, which has suffered from "empty nestism" and a declining aging population.

"Cherrywood will provide housing for about 20,000 people and 10,000 jobs. Discussions with the developers are already taking place on the kind of town centre required for the numbers of people who are expected to use it," Mr Gough revealed.

Cherrywood will be well situated on a LUAS and bus interchange, located at the Lahaunstown motorway interchange and on the route between the motorway and Dún Laoghaire centre.

It will also be serviced by a quality bus corridor on the N11.

"It's an exciting development and the higher densities should mean more affordable housing in a very desirable area," Mr Gough told The Irish Times.

The revitalisation of the centre of Dún Laoghaire will involve "strong urban design", with a landmark building on the Carlisle Pier and redevelopment of Dún Laoghaire Baths sites, to include a 25-metre public swimming pool.

The re-zoning of Dún Laoghaire Golf Club will also make a significant contribution towards reducing the age profile and providing more affordable housing in the centre where there will by 27 acres of land for public use - four times the size of the People's Park, with a cycle route through it.

The open space, which the council stresses is to be public open space, will see the park located either side of the Glenageary Road.

While a detailed planning application from the Cosgrave Group has yet to come before the council, Mr Gough points out that building so close to the town centre "will provide a major boost to shopping and businesses and also help to create a vibrant town centre".

The redeveloped site will be a 12-minute walk from the DART station - as walked by council officials.

Villages, such as Kilternan and Old Conna, have been re-zoned for residential development with neighbourhood centres.

On the commercial side, Mr Gough described the new county development plan which is to be in place until 2010, as a very ambitious one that leaves the county ideally placed to become the "premier entrepreneurial" local authority area in the State.

The redevelopment of Dundrum as one of the premier shopping destinations for the greater Dublin area is set to continue and the council expects to generate in excess of €460 million over the next 10 years from developer levy funding.

"The new plan gives us the framework we need to develop the county and, over the next six years, you'll see a lot of development begin and come to fruition," says Mr Gough, whose title is director of economic development as well as planning.

"The county needs a balance of young and old living in the area to provide for vibrant communities in the years ahead. People should be able to buy a house in the area where they grew up, close to their families and friends. This plan will facilitate that.

"The new county development plan will encourage new industries to locate here and will facilitate the provision of more public transport in the county."