Work to commence on North City Operations Depot

Dublin, Ireland - Dublin City Council is delighted to announce that the construction of the North City Operations Depot (NCOD) by Purcell Construction Ltd will commence as soon as the current Covid restrictions on non-essential construction are lifted.

The build is expected to take 19 months and

a further period of time will be required to install fixtures and fittings. The new depot is scheduled to be operational in early 2023. 

The depot site, which is directly opposite IKEA in Ballymun, is owned by Dublin City Council and was selected for a number of reasons including its accessibility to a good road network, appropriate zoning for depot use and it is a site designated for redevelopment in the Ballymun Local Area Plan.

In addition to benefiting City Council operations, the new depot will release 16 existing depot sites for more appropriate development including the provision of circa 750 social housing units. It will also:

yield savings from reduced duplication and increased efficiency

facilitate improved service delivery and improved facilities for operational staff

provide a major boost for the Ballymun area

eliminate the adverse impacts of existing depots on residential amenity

help the City Council to meet its climate action targets through construction of a near Zero Energy Campus

The development will include a number of new workshops for welding, painting, electrical, carpentry and fleet workshops as well as a signage and fleet branding unit.  There will also be a purpose-built shared Central Stores. The yard area is divided into various zones including designated spaces for larger vehicles, a waste compaction area, vehicle wash area and equipment storage areas.

The dedicated staff-only depot facility will comprise of an office and welfare building with briefing rooms, training rooms and a serviced canteen. Adjoining the office building, there will be a multi-storey car park accommodating small fleet vehicles and staff vehicles as well as 220 bicycle spaces. A garage facility for parking designated vehicles that require frost protection e.g. gully machines will also be provided. The depot includes a large salt barn with capacity for 1200 tonnes of salt.

A new Civic Amenity recycling centre will be provided beside the depot – this recycling centre will be open to the public and will facilitate recycling of all the normal dry recyclables (including paper, cans, tetrapak / cardboard / glass bottles / plastic bottles) as well as other items such as electrical goods and bulky waste.

The City Council approved a proposal to borrow €34m to part fund the new depot with the balance of the required funding (€40m) to come from the disposal of the vacated depot sites on long leases to Approved Housing Bodies for social housing where appropriate. It is expected that these sites will accommodate circa 750 new social housing units.

Images are available on request from the Media Relations Office