The establishment of a Development Company by the County Council to oversee the profitable disposal and development as leisure, recreational or entertainment facilities of the following properties, a) Blackrock Baths, b) Dún Laoghaire Baths and c) Moran Park House. Also, including the formation of a development partnership with the Dún Laoghaire Harbour Board to oversee the profitable development of the Carlisle Pier as a major tourism and leisure facility, is essential for the successful implementation of this proposal.

7.1 STAKEHOLDERS

The Stakeholders in the development of the "Coastal Zone" are essentially divided into two category – a) Primary and b) Secondary as follows, and must reflect the level of financial investment or exposure committed by the various parties and, in essence, the developments considered by this proposal are commercial enterprises.

Primary Stakeholders

This category consists of the County Council, the Harbour Board and any major independent investors.

Secondary Stakeholders

This category consists of two sub-sections reflecting the public interest and sectional or special interest as follows:-

Smaller private investors, facility tenants and Specialist Heritage Groups.

The local business and community organisations; An Taisce and the general public.

7.2 PUBLIC / PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS

In the formulation of any plans associated with this proposal, the issue of public/private partnerships in the acquisition of capital and the development of the facilities described must be to the forefront of any feasibility study. No development is envisaged that would preclude, restrict or in any manner prevent the fullest participation of private capital investment in the development and operation of the facilities to be located at Blackrock Baths, Dún Laoghaire Baths, Moran Park House and the Carlisle Pier.

7.3 HERITAGE PARTNERSHIPS

The development of "Heritage Partnerships" between the County Council and the various voluntary heritage groups in the County will assist with the acquisition of funding, the provision of heritage services, the formulation of Heritage Plans & Policy and the acquisition of specialist knowledge in a range of disciplines to assist the County Council in the development of its heritage infrastructure.

The development of the "Heritage Partnership" could extend to third level educational institutions and academic or specialist organisations at home and overseas to provide funding through various Charitable Foundations and Bursaries to develop and expand the Municipal Museum & Art Gallery of this County.

7.4 PRIVATE INVESTMENT

The provision of heritage, leisure or other amenities in the County cannot be facilitated or sustained by drawing down from the finite resources available to the Local Authority no more than it can be expected that the voluntary sector must be the sole provider of funding.

If this County is to have state-of-the-art facilities more imaginative and creative funding opportunities must be sought and developed. In the past, certain sections of our community would have totally rejected the notion of the involvement of the private sector in the provision of heritage facilities and other leisure amenities on sites owned by the County Council. However, in an open competitive economy with increasing costs of property and labour, the County Council has few options for the funding of heritage service and amenities but through direct grant aid from Central Government or the European Union. With this nation’s increased wealth and with the prospect of enlargement of the European Union to the east, we can no longer depend on such funding to remain at present levels.

Therefore, an open approach to both the formulation of investment packages and the seeking of avenues for the promotion of such opportunities for private investment must be foremost in minds of those charged with the planning and development of the County’s heritage and amenities infrastructure. Private investment need not solely be concerned with dividends, it may embrace a range of options from Tax Consolidation to favourable rates reduction packages for the investor in heritage, culture or public amenities.

The possibility of offering share options to the citizenry of the County in the development of, for example, the Carlisle Pier, may be included as part of the funding package required to secure the development and/or seed capital for a partnership by the County Council and a major investor.