Reopening Blackrock Village for All.

The Covid-19 lockdown has been a difficult time for us all, including traders in our Village. To better enable the safe reopening of the Village for all, the BBN together with a committed group of local residents and with the support of local Councillors, has been working closely with DLRCC on a proposal to make this happen.  The plan will temporarily make the Village one way, further build the public space in the Village and make Blackrock Village more attractive to shoppers and visitors while ensuring Covid-19 social distancing protocols can be safely maintained.

The plan:

• Will see Main Street become one way from the Rock Hill / Blackrock Park end of the village through to the Village Square (stone cross) end of the Village together with a contra flow bike lane.

• The repurposed road space will be used to widen the pedestrian paths on both sides of Main Street, enabling increased pedestrian footfall to safely visit and enjoy the Village and also to allow for an increased “pavement social culture” for all to enjoy.

• Full two way access to the Blackrock Shopping Centre car park will remain at Rock Hill. In addition, the disabled parking spot on Main St. will also remain.

• A small number of car parking spaces will be repurposed, however additional new parking spaces will be added at the Rock Hill end of the Village.

• To ensure trader access for deliveries, two loading bays are included in the plan – one at either end of the Village.  These will be available for loading each morning up to 11am and then will revert to parking spaces.

Implementation:

• Implementation will happen in two stages. There will initially be a very temporary layout installed from June 8th using flexible bollards. These bollards will then be replaced with a more appropriate solution (eg. low profile kerb separators etc.) from end of June once the materials become available (as these are currently in very high demand globally).
• The works are expected to run for a 5 week period, running until the second week in July 2020.
• As this temporary configuration is likely to be with us for some time, the Council has agreed to pay special attention to the quality of the materials used so that the end result is visually attractive and will also include new planters and street furnishings.

Working together to make re-opening a success

This is a very exciting and hugely positive step forward for our Village. It represents an opportunity for us all to better develop and enjoy the Village while supporting our local traders. Hopefully, we can all work together to make this the fantastic success that it can be as it represents the beginning of the rejuvenation of Blackrock Village for all. The positive feedback from traders, residents and on social media is hugely exciting to see and gives an indication of the potential here.

The BBN would like to express sincere thanks to DLRCoCo who have very positively and proactively engaged with us in this process and are committed to delivering a quality result for Blackrock Village (please see here for more details). Thanks also to Cllr. Séafra O’Faolain, Cllr. Mary Hanafin, Cllr. Marie Baker and all of our Councilors who have supported this initiative from its inception.

The BBN would especially like to thank the local residents who came forward and invested a huge amount of their personal time and expertise pulling this plan and submission together and then working closely with the Council and the BBN to make it a reality.

Hope to see you all enjoying Summer 2020 in Blackrock Village !

Hospice Sunflower days 2020

Message from the Hospice Movement

“Hospice Sunflower Days are one of the leading national fundraisers in Ireland for hospice and specialist palliative home care services. In 2020, we will be celebrating our 30th anniversary of Hospice Sunflower Days!

Our volunteers can’t collect on the streets this year but we still need your support to ensure that we can keep providing specialist palliative care to our patients and residents. You can support us by buying Sunflower Days items or by making a donation. We are asking you to support our incredible front line staff at this very challenging time.

Your donation will have an immediate impact providing expert care, comfort and support at this critical time and will a great help, in the coming weeks and months, for so many in our community”.

For full details see:

https://olh.ie/fundraising/calendar-of-events/sunflower-days/

Restart Grant Information

The €250 million Restart Grant is aimed at helping micro and small businesses with the costs associated with reopening and reemploying workers following COVID-19 closures.

Eligible businesses who have stayed open throughout the crisis, as well as those who are reopening under Phase 1 (from 18 May) and Phase 2 (8 June) of the Government’s Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business, are encouraged to apply now for the Restart Grant. These applications will be prioritised for payment by the local authorities.

Eligible companies with the most immediate need to get back up-and-running will receive the grant support as quickly as possible.  For this reason, the businesses listed in Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Roadmap, as well as those who stayed open all along, will be prioritised. Businesses know the dates on which their premises can reopen, and we want to avoid long waiting times for the grant. Businesses are advised that they should wait until a few weeks before their business is due to reopen before submitting their application to the local authorities.

To avail of the Restart Grant, applicants must be a commercial business and be in the Local Authorities Commercial Rates Payment System and:

1. Have an annual turnover of less than €5m and employ between 1 to 50 people;
2. Have suffered a projected 25%+ loss in turnover to end June 2020;
3. Commit to remain open or to reopen if it was closed;
4. Declare the intention to retain employees that are on The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme and re-employ staff on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment as business recovers.

For more details contact:    Business Support Unit in DLR Council on 01 2054700 or info@dlrcoco.ie.