COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF TALLAGHT AREA COMMITTEE

Monday, June 25, 2018

QUESTION NO. 20

QUESTION: Councillor L. Dunne

"To ask the Chief Executive who is in ownership of the land beside Killinarden Enterprise Business Park that is across from South City Business park? To additionally ask, if it is Council owned that the Council consider making use of this land by expanding the Enterprise Business Park for the purpose of creating more local business and employment?"

REPLY:

“The area of land in question is in Council ownership however the Council recently carried out a feasibility study process to assess both the demand and optimum location for new Enterprise/Innovation Space in the County. The purpose of the study was to explore how the development of new, additional innovation centre space could help to:

• retain more innovative businesses in the local area and prevent them from relocating elsewhere
• attract more innovative businesses to the area, including inward investors, and
• foster an entrepreneurial culture and ‘mind-set’ in South Dublin, increasing the number of start-ups, thereby increasing high quality job opportunities in the County.

It is imperative that any new Enterprise/Innovation Space is not simply a property development but should be an attractive visible cross sectoral hub for innovative entrepreneurs to locate in South Dublin which will support an enterprise and innovation culture. It should be an attractive space for entrepreneurs to locate in South Dublin and also retain and embed a supply chain of innovators that puts South Dublin firmly on the map as a business destination.

The study established what is currently available in the Dublin region, identified the needs and requirements for maximising opportunities in the sector and recommended best approaches to meeting those needs based on the County profile, existing supply and existing and emerging needs.

Three suitable options were identified and presented to the Economic Enterprise & Tourism Development SPC on 9^th May for consideration.

Option 1 – Greenfield site at Grange Castle Business Park.

Option 2 - Tallaght Town Centre – County Hall/ITT/Hospital Corridor.

Option 3 – Exisiting Bolbrook Enterprise Centre – Partas

Option 3 was considered to be more community based and not appropriate for modern innovative businesses. Options 1 and 2 are thought to be the most likely options to achieve the headline objectives of the new enterprise/innovation centre, in terms of creating a vibrant and dynamic business destination and are in prominent business locations. They benefit from concentrations of innovative and entrepreneurial businesses surrounding them, which will further support the creation of the ecosystem that any successful innovation centre needs to be part of.

It was agreed at the SPC that staff from the Economic Enterprise & Tourism Development  department would now develop criteria to assess the final two shortlisted options to determine the preferred location for potential development of new Innovation/Enterprise Space in the County and report back to the Committee by the end of the Summer.”