Waterford City and County Council has been shortlisted in the Placemaking and Planning Category of the KPMG Irish Independent Property Industry Excellence Awards 2026 for the transformative South Quays Plaza project. The South Quays Plaza provides a significant new public amenity for residents and visitors alike bringing vibrancy and vitality to Waterford’s South Quays. Situated …Read More
The North Quays Project Team presented a progress update at the June Plenary Council meeting, highlighting significant milestones achieved across the development and outlining the next phase of works scheduled over the coming 18 months. Sean Dobbs, Senior Engineer with Waterford City and County Council, said the current phase of construction is nearing completion, …Read More
As Easter approaches and brighter evenings return, steady progress continues across the North Quays Public Infrastructure Project, marking another important phase in the transformation of Waterford’s waterfront. Access infrastructure works in Ferrybank are nearing completion, which will enhance connectivity and support the opening of a new section of the South East Greenway. In the city …Read More
This report has been prepared following a memo by Waterford City & County Council (WCCC) to the National Transport Authority (NTA) requesting funding for a feasibility study. The proposal relates to the provision of a public bus service that would connect the new transport hub on the North Quays to the South Quay Plaza at …Read More
North Quays is one of the top ten projects included in the National Planning Framework (NPF) “Ireland 2040”. Its ambition is to enable Waterford to become a regional city of scale, leading the economic development for the South East and expanding and enhancing the local economy to realise the potential of the City and the region as a whole. The development, earmarked SDZ and already beneficiary of allocated public support, is anticipated to combine commercially attractive asset classes such as the life sciences, social and senior housing, health care, university services, office and retail.
Warranted by its growing role as Ireland’s south eastern regional capital, Waterford is well placed to implement a zero carbon, socially inclusive and environmentally astute mixed use real estate development.
In January 2016 Waterford City and County Council achieved Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) designation for the North Quays area of Waterford City, this acknowledges the area nationally as a key strategic site for economic and social development. The designation of this existing brown field riverside site in the heart of the City Centre allows for a holistic plan-led approach to development on the North Quays and a fast-track planning procedure.
In 2017 and in accordance with the Planning and Development Act 2000, a Draft Planning Scheme was prepared, setting out how the SDZ site is intended to be developed. In 2018, following a statutory consultation period, the Waterford North Quays Planning Scheme was adopted by Waterford City and County Council members.
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NORTH QUAYS will contribute to transform Waterford into a smart sustainable city by using information and communication technologies (ICTs) and other means to improve quality of life, efficiency of urban operation and services, and competitiveness, while ensuring that it meets the needs of present and future generations with respect to economic, social, environmental as well as cultural aspects.
North Quays features a well-pre planned public realm that will establish a community identity, enhance public safety, encourage private investment and allow citizens to embrace and celebrate their places and spaces. Committed allocation by Urban Regeneration Development Funding and National Transport Authority funding secures North Quays three key infrastructural elements :
