Living Streets Blackrock Village is a public realm improvement project which aims to enhance the attractiveness, liveability, connectivity, and economic vibrancy of Blackrock Village.  Building on the temporary measures implemented during the COVID restrictions of summer 2020 on Blackrock Main Street, the plan will move the village from a temporary layout to a high-quality permanent design.

At our meeting with the Dlr team this week, their senior engineer confirmed the following:

– Tender is an open competition (2 stages)

– Stage 1 shortlisting completed

– Stage 2 sign-off from National Transport Authority completed

– PGB approval to proceed to tender completed

– Tender to be issued in coming weeks

– Commence construction in Q3 2025 – expected in July 2025

3D Renders:

It is proposed to locate a number of 3D renders/Artists impression at suitable locations in Blackrock to allow the public to visualise the completed project

Important Contract Conditions:

1. The works compound will be located in part of the Dart Car Park.  A condition of the provision of this space to the contractor is that they agree that any private vehicles used by the contractors personnel are only parked within the compound and that they do not take up pay and display or public parking bays on street. These are essential to the operation of the businesses during the works.
2. The Contractor shall appoint a liaison officer who will be responsible for advising local residents and businesses of proposed traffic management plans. The Liaison Officer is required to carry out a letter drop to all residences/commercial holdings affected by the proposed traffic restrictions, 2 weeks prior to implementing any traffic management plan and prior to any and all subsequent changes to traffic restrictions. A contact number for the Liaison Officer is to be provided on all public notices and letter drops.

We will update further as we get nearer the time for the works to begin.

Boots, a long-standing Retailer within Frascati has taken two new Units (10,000 sq ft) on the ground floor, which will be designed and modelled into a spectacular store.  Frascati Centre is looking forward to the new opening, and also to the breadth of products and services Boots will offer from their new store. The existing store will remain open until the new store is complete.

In other news, the Warehouse Gym has recently agreed a 26,608 sq ft space over 2 levels for a gym and client welfare space.

Frascati Centre has a family fun day planned on Saturday 19 April 2025.  With special visitors from the Animal Roadshow, families will get to pet all their favourite animals!

Meet the Easter Bunny and enjoy the entertainment including face-painting, balloon modelling and lots of free games and prizes.

The St Patrick’s Day events are organised by the Blackrock Business Association and we would like to thank our own members for the sterling efforts they have made over the past few months to get this very successful event organised and delivered.  We also want to thank Blackrock Athletics Club for taking on the organisation and staging of the various races, the Five Bands (Stedfast Brass Band, Aiteal, Young Comhaltas Group, School of Rock Group, Blackrock Ukulele Group) for providing the great music, and the Blackrock Tidy Towns’ Committee for doing the tidy-up so effectively afterwards.

Once again this year the St Patrick’s Day events in both Blackrock Park and Blackrock Village provided great fun and merriment for the local kids and their parents, with games, entertainment, music and fun in plentiful supply both in the Park and the Village.  Mr Podzo this year again was in fine form and had the kids mesmerised by his antics and sense of fun!  The six leprechauns had a busy day but, despite the pressure they had to endure in being continuously chased, they happily escaped unscathed!

This year we extended the activity on the Main Street to include the Frascati Centre and the Blackrock Village Centre and so made the celebrations more inclusive of the whole Village.

Look carefully at the old walls in Blackrock and Booterstown – they tell the story of what lies beneath – the two types of bedrock that meet here; the Leinster Granite and the Dublin Carboniferous Limestone.  In the past, people generally quarried whatever rock was closest to build walls. South of Blackrock, granite is the most common rock you’ll see in old walls while north of Blackrock, limestone is the most common rock

you’ll see. Around Blackrock and Booterstown, the walls are made of a mixture of granite and limestone indicating that you are close to the contact point between the two types of bedrock!

DLRCoCo have published a series of geology guides to Dun Laoghaire Rathdown co-funded by Geological Survey Ireland.  To see the full publication relating to Blackrock click here.

Chairperson Cllr Marie Baker with her team at the recent Urban Junction coffee morning in aid of Tidy Towns

The Blackrock Tidy Towns’ Group will be holding its annual An Taisce Spring Clean on Sat 10  May 2025, starting outside the Bank of Ireland on Main Street at 10am.  All volunteers are welcome and appreciated.

Head Chef Nooni – 6 years with San Sab

San Sab Blackrock is just one year open and recently won the Just Eat Award for Best Asian Restaurant in Ireland.  Congratulations to owner Fergus Sweeney, Head Chef Nooni and the team.  San Sab are community driven and work with, and support, local services and charities – Aidlink, Alzheimer’s, Pieta House & Laura Lynn to name a few.  They expect to support more this year too. San Sab are a family run Irish business.

San Sab serve up the quality food at excellent prices. They have just launched their new menu with great lunch offers and are now open from Thursdays.   Check out www.sansab.ie.

There is a growing problem in the Village with traders leaving waste bins permanently on the street – 7 days a week.  What started as a small issue has now spread to other parts of the Village.  The works that are due to start shortly will significantly upgrade and enhance our already lovely Village so it is vital that this delinquent and antisocial behaviour is curtailed.  We would appeal once again to those traders who can easily store their bins away from the street to kindly do so.