A marina with around 230 berths is foreseen.

Babtie Group is acting as the consultant for the project, which also calls for a significant amount of land reclamation, a compulsory purchase order for part of the harbour, and for the creation of residential and business units, and space for coastal and sea rescue facilities. If the project goes ahead as planned the new marina is likely to open in the 2006-2007 timeframe, said Quirke.

Coastal erosion at Greystones North Beach is very severe, averaging 3m per year.

Greystones Harbour has been deteriorating since a couple of years after it was built in 1888, Quirke explained, and the walls started to collapse and the harbour silted up. 'Anyone walking on the pier today can hear the sea beneath their feet and it is really no longer usable as an amenity, ' he explained.

Using a Public Private Partnership Scheme (PPP), the problems at the harbour and erosion will be halted, a priority of the scheme being the installation of new coastal protection. Another priority is development of a new community around the harbour and marina with facilities for the people of Greystones.

Following detailed studies by consultants of proposals presented to the public in June 2001, it was recommended that a new and improved plan be drawn up to make the project viable while taking the opportunity to create a high quality sustainable development.

The improvements planned include seafront apartments and houses, a larger public park, improved facilities for local seafaring groups and more shops, cafes and leisure facilities.

Another important part of the project will be enhancing the public coastal walk from Greystones to Bray Head via the harbour and marina quayside, alongside the new sandy beach and on through the new public park. Facilities will also be provided for a sailing club, angling club, rowing club, divers, and the local coastguard.

In November 2003, Wicklow County Council varied the current County Development Plan to accommodate modified design principles for the Greystones Harbour and North Beach development and to provide a planning framework in which the project may be taken forward. The variation includes the replacement of the 1999 Area Action Plan for Greystones Harbour and North Beach with a new Area Action Plan to accord with the revised planning principles on which the proposed Greystones Harbour PPP project will be based.

Welcoming the decision of the Elected Members to approve the innovative and visionary proposals, the County Manager, Eddie Sheehy described the project as 'one of the most complex and ambitious being undertaken by any Irish Local Authority.' Construction work could start later this year, said Quirke.