Dublin City Council has issued a reminder to property developers regarding its 'Cultural Toolkit' and associated guidance for creating new cultural and community spaces within the city.

The initiative was created to offer practical support to developers in fulfilling their obligations under the Dublin City Development Plan 2022-28. This plan mandates that five per cent of floorspace in large-scale developments must be allocated for arts, cultural and community purposes.

It aims to encourage partnerships with cultural operators and artform resource organisations to ensure new spaces created under this policy thrive and contribute to the cultural life of the city. The new resources highlight the key building blocks, and provide a guide to the process of delivering cultural infrastructure, through identifying and responding to a real need, designing for a clear cultural use and selecting a delivery model that is sustainable for both the developer and operator.

In addition to offering a detailed roadmap for integrating cultural spaces into development projects, the toolkit facilitates connections between developers, cultural operators and arts organisations. It includes specific design guidelines tailored to various art forms and offers direction on assessing cultural and community needs across different areas of the city.

John Davison, Head of Strategic Communications and lead on cultural regeneration with Turley consultants, said: "It has been a privilege to collaborate with Dublin City Council to create this transformative resource. The new Guidance and Toolkit represents an investment in Dublin’s future and will cultivate – with more certainty – vibrant cultural infrastructure that is impactful, meaningful and reflective of community wants and needs. With a clearly defined process and practical framework, developers can confidently integrate quality cultural initiatives that boost the integrity and longevity of new developments whilst enhancing Dublin’s communities for generations to come.

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"The process has been immensely rewarding and I look forward to seeing how this Guidance and Toolkit will shape the development of Dublin’s cultural landscape, delivering authentic experiences that are central to the city’s character."

Ray Yeates, City Arts Officer at Dublin City Council stated: "As we build new housing and offices in a growing Dublin we must create spaces for artists to create work, new studios and workspaces that sit alongside new venues, theatres and galleries that bring vibrancy to our city. Property Developers, Dublin City Council and Cultural Operators have an opportunity to deliver the critical infrastructure for artists and their communities, and the new toolkit is designed to enable these partnerships and provide a clearer process.

"When developing the toolkit, we've engaged extensively with developers, the majority of whom understood that embedding culture is a way to ensure vibrant and successful places. We think this Toolkit will be a superb tool, helping them and our city to reap the benefits of this ambitious policy."

Deirdre Scully, City Planner at Dublin City Council commented: "We're thrilled to see this toolkit and guidance being brought forward as a key action of the City Development Plan. The new requirements created a fresh impetus to the delivery of cultural spaces within Dublin, and this toolkit will further help giving the planning and development sector a positive and useful source to demystify the process. Developers and planners are not always accustomed to speaking the language of arts and culture. This toolkit will help to build a shared understanding and will ultimately deliver more and better-quality arts and cultural spaces, as well as a more vibrant and exciting city."

Ulrik Raysse, Founder at ARROW said: "We are pleased to have delivered the Cultural Infrastructure Toolkit in close collaboration with DCC & Turley, which provides the building blocks for the implementation of Cultural Infrastructure for developers investing in the future of Dublin."