Dublin’s principal shopping street, Grafton Street, has been given the green light for repaving by the City Council.

The project, due to get underway in January 2013, will see the badly deteriorated, mid 1980s surface, ripped up and totally replaced with pink and grey granite, at a cost of €2.5 million.

The colourful facelift plans for the the recently dubbed ‘Grafton Street Quarter’ are expected to take about a year to complete, coming more than five years after the council designated it an architectural conservation area.

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Councillors last night approved the initiation of the plans but raised concerns that the works would have a serious impact on the use of the street. Dublin City Council reiterated that the existing Eurobrick installation has got to the point where it requires repair on an almost daily basis.

"The replacement of its existing paving material is an imperative for the street and the city," councillors were told last night.

The planned reconstruction work will be undertaken on a phased basis to minimise disruption for businesses. The paving and street furniture upgrade will also see added protection to existing private under-street cellars from the weight of delivery vehicles and further allow for mechanised street-cleaning vehicles to continue unhindered. The council has also outlined plans to spend a further €9.5 million by the end of 2014 on improvements to other streets in the surrounding streets.

(HMc/GK)