Coach, Ashbourne
Coach is a major new residential neighbourhood on the southern edge of Ashbourne, Co. Meath, delivering 702 homes across a 20-hectare site for Lydon. The scheme is currently advanced on site, with construction well underway across multiple phases.
DSA Architects took the project from masterplan and pre-planning through a successful An Bord Pleanála application and into construction, designing a varied residential typology mix anchored by a strong landscape-led masterplan structure
Design Approach
The masterplan, developed in consultation with Meath County Council and identified as Masterplan 18 in the Meath County Development Plan 2021–2027, is structured around five clear organising moves: a 'Green Spine' linear park running through the centre of the site, a new Link Street serving both Coach and adjoining lands to the west, a Local Centre and Plaza as a focal point, a 4-metre-wide pedestrian and cyclist Green Link, and a Dublin Road Gateway anchored by a strong urban frontage.
These structural elements give the development legibility and walkability from day one, while creating distinct neighbourhood quarters within the wider scheme. The Local Centre, with retail units, a creche and a GP practice, gives Coach genuine self-sufficiency as a new community.
Character Areas
The development is divided into five distinct character areas, each with its own scale, material palette and relationship to context. The lower-density edges respond to existing residential neighbours with two- and three-storey houses, while heights step up towards the centre of the site and the Local Centre.
The Dublin Road Gateway provides a confident new urban edge to Ashbourne, with apartment buildings rising to six storeys to mark the arrival into the town. Between these poles, mid-rise duplexes and apartments create a graduated transition, ensuring the scheme reads as a coherent piece of town-making rather than a single uniform estate.
Housing Typology Mix
Coach delivers a deliberately varied housing mix: 420 houses (ranging from 2 to 5 bed), 38 duplex units, and 244 apartments (1 to 3 bed) across blocks of 3 to 6 storeys. The mix supports a full life-cycle of residents — from first-time buyers and downsizers to growing families.
Non-residential uses — two creches, four retail units and a GP practice — are concentrated around the Local Centre and Plaza. Approximately one hectare to the west of the site is reserved for a future primary school and playing pitch, securing community infrastructure for Coach and the wider neighbourhood as it grows.
Client
Location
Site Area
Total Units
Typology Mix
Height
Non-Residential
Public Open Space
Services Provided
Status
Lydon
Baltrasna & Milltown, Ashbourne, Co. Meath
20.04 hectares
702 homes
420 houses (2–5 bed) · 38 duplex units · 244 apartments (1–3 bed)
2 to 6 storeys
2 creches · 4 retail units · 1 GP practice
2.89 hectares (15.5% of site)
Masterplan, Concept, Planning, Design, Assigned Certifier, Construction-Stage Architecture
Under construction — advanced on site
