Project Adamstown: so where did it all go right?

It seems straightforward common sense - to plan for schools and amenities before you build the houses. Yet it's a model that has been largely ignored - with disastrous consequences. Gráinne Fallerreports from Adamstown, Co Dublin, where three new primary schools have just opened their doors to the area's new residents

Green and golden fields stretch as far as the eye can see from Adamstown train station. The station itself is on a height and it's only when you get down to ground level that massive purple hoardings detailing the plans for the surrounding land become visible.

Being in Adamstown, Co Dublin is a strange experience. At the moment the place feels like a strange hybrid between a model village and a ghost town - it's clean and perfectly formed with sandstone-style bricks and mature trees dotted throughout - but the place is eerily quiet. It's a ready-made town centre, plotted and planned to grow with the community that will soon move in. About 340 individuals and families are already in-situ with many more expected to move in over the coming months.

In an era of appalling planning resulting in the seemingly endless treadmill of school overcrowding, emergency expansions and school openings in suburban Dublin, the planners and developers in Adamstown come across as almost visionary in their approach. In truth, it's not so much an inspired vision as straightforward common sense. Build the houses, but make sure the infrastructure is in place beforehand - simple as that.

By now things are moving quickly. The Adamstown link road is in use and a bus service is in operation. The train station is open and links Adamstown to Heuston Station about once every hour. A crèche is due to open in December and the first primary schools started accepting children earlier this month.

Adamstown Castle Educate Together National School building opened its doors on September 5th. Surprisingly for a new school, there isn't a prefab in sight. "I'm the first principal of an Educate Together school to walk into a building rather than a Portacabin or a hall somewhere," says principal Tom Moriarty. Indeed the building is impressive. Big classrooms, high ceilings and plenty of natural light - it was purpose-built on a site provided by the Adamstown developers. That the building was completed in time is something of a miracle in itself. Work started 10 months ago with builders working through the night to get it finished on time. "We got the keys on a Monday and we opened on the Wednesday," says Moriarty.

The school building currently houses three schools: Adamstown Castle Educate Together NS, Esker Educate Together NS - both multi-denominational - and a Catholic school St John the Evangelist NS. The difference between this scenario and that in places such as Balbriggan is that the school building is big enough to accommodate all three at the moment. "We're going to be able to grow into the schools," says Tony McGinley, principal of St John the Evangelist NS.

In November, the children in St John the Evangelist will move across the school yard to their own school building, a virtual twin of the one they are already in. Esker and Adamstown Castle Educate Together schools will continue to share the other building. The Esker school is waiting for its own school building, which Educate Together expects to have opened by 2009. Eventually, the site will also have a leisure centre, including a swimming pool. And a site for a secondary school has been allocated just across the road.

So how is this happening? Adamstown is Ireland's first strategic development zone (SDZ). Situated in the south west of Co Dublin, on the Dublin-Kildare railway line, the land there was rezoned for residential development almost 10 years ago. In 2001 the Government designated it as an SDZ. This means that development at Adamstown is happening in phases. The SDZ specifies what infrastructure needs to be in place by the time a certain number of houses and apartments are built. If the developers have met the requirements for phase one, for example, they can then move on to phase two of the plan. Cooperation between South Dublin County Council and the developers is essential. The county council has a dedicated project team that works with the developers and interested parties to ensure than everything is going to plan.

But while having infrastructure in place will benefit the council and the community, why are the developers cooperating? What's in it for them? Jude Byrne of Castlethorn Developments, the largest of the three developers involved in Adamstown, says: "This system enables us to have a clear planning roadmap. As long as we abide by the constraints of the planning scheme and provide what needs to be provided, this model is a recipe for fast-track development."

Eventually Adamstown will have four primary schools. The schools in place at the moment are two-stream schools, which means they each have a capacity of between about 400 and 500 pupils. Each currently has about 60 children, so there is plenty of room for growth as the community moves in.

Of course, the fact that Adamstown is being developed on a greenfield site makes planning for infrastructure such as schools, somewhat easier, but could the Adamstown model be used elsewhere?

"This was a cooperative effort between the developers, the Department of Education and Science and South Dublin County Council," says Jude Byrne. "With those kind of proactive working relationships this model can work."

The issue becomes more complicated when an existing community experiences a sudden and unexpected influx of families. Here, without the involvement of a developer, the only thing the department can do is try to anticipate through the census and local estimates, which schools need extra classes and which areas need new schools. However, in areas experiencing intensive and large-scale residential development, the Adamstown model may be a possibility. The key lies with the bigger developers, according to Paul Hogan, Adamstown SDZ Project Manager with South Dublin County Council. He says: "The real pressure for schools arises when land is first developed and people move in. We can't reserve valuable sites without penalising the developers involved. We have to appeal to larger developers for whom it makes sense to reserve a school site in return for fast-track development." For developments such as these, Adamstown is the test.

Back in the school, the principals are both excited and apprehensive at the prospect of being at the helm of these brand new schools. "It's great fun," says Moriarty. "We were there on the first day, three principals trying to figure out who was in what school. I'm excited about it."

"It's a fantastic opportunity," says McGinley. "I hope that five years down the line, the schools will be at the heart of this community. I think we'll be instrumental in its development."

Eventually, when the secondary school is in place, children in the Adamstown community will have a defined educational path, in more ways than one. "The children will start here, move across the road to secondary school and then go down the road to catch the train when they go to third level," says Moriarty. "They'll be moving along the road as they progress with their education."

"Our schools will grow with the community instead of trying to catch up to it," says McGinley. "This should be the blueprint for the future."

Model school: Adamstown - a timetable of events

At the moment, developers have permission to build 1,463 residential units in Adamstown. They have completed 795, and 340 of those are currently occupied. The provision of infrastructure is currently running ahead of plan. The schools were not required until 1,800 units had been occupied, for example.

It is proposed to build a minimum of 8,250 and a maximum of 10,150 dwelling units together with shops, offices, schools, community, leisure and childcare facilities, parks, roads, bus corridors, a railway station, park-and-ride car park and drainage networks, all on a phased basis. Eventually Adamstown will be home to between 20,000 and 25,000 people. It will take between 10 and 15 years to complete.

1998- The site that will become Adamstown is zoned for residential development.

2001 -The Government designates the site as an SDZ.

2002- The Adamstown plan is put together.

2003- The plan goes through a validation procedure.

2004- June: The first planning application is received.

September:Planning is granted.

October: Work starts on site.

2006- February: Over 600 homes sold in the first phase of the Adamstown development.

June:Interim bus service begins operation.

October:The first residents begin moving in.

November:The sod is turned in the first primary school.

2007 -April: Rail station opens.

July:The 151 bus service begins.

September:Adamstown Castle Educate Together NS school building opens its doors. St John the Evangelist NS and Esker Educate Together NS share the premises.

November:St John the Evangelist NS school building is complete and children and teachers move in.

December:First crèche opens its doors.

2009 -Spring: Leisure centre with swimming pool due to open.

September:New secondary school opens. Community centre and sports hall opens.

2010 -Spring: Upgrades on the railway tracks treble the commuter capacity of the rail service.

Phase one of the district centre is complete with apartments, shops, cinemas, supermarket and green areas.

See www.adamstown.ie for more details