Planning Application Submitted For Delgany Cul de Sac

Writing’s on the wall… TUES26MAY26

he 5-year battle by local residents and businesses to make Delgany’s main road a cul de sac seems to be reaching fruition.

The main part of the battle being Wicklow County Council’s apparent determination to make the village a one-way, with reduced parking and, we reckon, sponsorship from Scalextric. 

This week, a planning application for a new layout of the 200-metre stretch will include that cul de sac, widened footpaths, raised crossings and a mini-roundabout.

The now mercifully abandoned one-way system was first proposed by The Former Town Engineer Whose Name Must Not Be Mentioned (thanks to a cease and desist letter we received from Wicklow County Council in December) was seen by many in Delgany as not fit for purpose, reducing on-street parking to one disabled space and creating what many in the village felt would be just a rat-run for schools in the morning and afternoons.

The stand-off between engineer and residents abruptly ended when the latter was informed after the fact that the funding deadline had passed.

With local councillors having been presented in July last year with seven options when it came to addressing the pedestrian and cycling infrastructure along Chapel Road, it was at the December meeting of the Greystones Municipal District Council that the fourth option of a one-way was seemingly rejected by council officials in favour of option 7.

The planning documents reveal that the footpaths will be widened to 1.8 metres where possible, 1.5 metres width elsewhere, and the main road would narrow to 5 metres with a speed limit of 20kmh. Plus, there will be four parking spaces, one disabled bay and a loading bay, along with new trees, benches and your standard-issued public realm upgrades.

The roundabout at the old convent gates will act as a turning head for vehicles, with cyclists and pedestrians naturally allowed to proceed through.

Acknowledging the frustration the initial proposals had caused residents in Delgany, officials from the project team confirmed the Part 8 planning application back in December. And what concreted their decision was the 8-week closure of Convent Road in 2022 for essential works at a new estate, a planning report noting that ‘overall footfall increased and residents reported a sense of a village centre returned, with a far more peaceful and far less car-dominated environment’.

A decision on the new planning application is due on July 8th.

In the meantime, you can check out Delgany butcher and local leg end Anthony Farrelly’s take on the main street malarkey here agus here.