Plan to build staff accommodation at Powerscourt Hotel is appealed to An Bord Pleanála

 A proposed development at Powerscourt Hotel Resort and Spa has received a set back after a planning appeal against the granting of the permission was lodged with An Bord Pleanala. Powerscourt Hotel had received planning approval last month to build a new 56-bed staff accommodation complex to help it attract staff amid the current housing crisis. In the submission to Wicklow County Council, planners for Powerscourt said it was “exasperated” by the current housing crisis and the availability of affordable housing near Powerscourt in Enniskerry leading to difficulties in attracting prospective employees. The issues had meant the hotel had turned its attention to recruiting from “close haul European markets” such as Spain and Greece, supplemented by people from Brazil and “more recently Ukraine”.

Read the full article @ The Wicklow People

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Hiring process to board of An Bord Pleanála to be overhauled - O'Brien

 Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien has told the Dáil that the public must have trust in the impartiality and integrity of the planning system if it is to function effectively in facilitating sustainable development. He was speaking during statements on An Bord Pleanála which has been plunged into controversy following allegations of wrongdoing against former deputy chairperson Paul Hyde. Mr Hyde resigned his position in July and he denies any wrongdoing. The Minister said he would shortly bring proposals to cabinet to overhaul the appointments process to the board of An Bord Pleanála. This will be underpinned by legislation. "It is intended that this process will reflect modern best practice for recruitment to senior executive positions within the Irish public service," he said.

Read the full article at www.rte.ie

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An Bord Pleanála backs down on High Court challenge regarding the Bridge Hotel refusal in Wexford

 An Bord Pleanála has backed down from a High Court legal challenge by Wexford businessmen Colm and Anthony Neville over its decision to refuse planning permission a second time for a new 142-bedroom hotel on Commercial Quay. The brothers sought a judicial view of the planning board’s refusal of the proposed Bridge Park Hotel project,  requesting that it be set aside and declared unlawful. The board refused permission for the development on appeal last October  despite its own inspector recommending that the hotel be granted planning permission. It was the second time that the project by CoAnt Entertainments Ltd was  turned down by the board after Wexford County Council twice gave it the go-ahead before their decisions were appealed by third parties.

Read the full article at The Irish Independent

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New €20m Wexford movie studio gets planning approval

 An Bord Pleanála has given its approval for a new €20 million movie studio for Co Wexford. The Tara Studios Ltd development will include seven studios, 10 workshops and two office buildings within the curtilage of Borleagh House eight kilometres north west of Gorey. The appeals board granted planning permission after dismissing its own inspector’s recommendation to refuse the plan, which Tara Studios said “would amount to doubling the size of the Irish inward investment for film industry in Ireland”, when operational. The application also enclosed an email from a Netflix executive underlining that “studio capacity in Ireland is limited”.

Read the full article @ The Irish Times

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Irish Planning Institute calls on Housing Minister to urgently resource An Bord Pleanála

 The Irish Planning Institute (IPI) has called on Darragh O’Brien, the Minister for Housing, to make a number of temporary appointments to An Bord Pleanála amid concern the planning body’s workload could be compromised over the coming months. It comes as the Dáil, on Thursday afternoon, held a debate around the future of the embattled authority after months of controversy, and follows a series of allegations against the board’s former deputy chair, Paul Hyde, as well as questions arising around a number of the board’s procedures. In April, O’Brien initiated a review by senior counsel Remy Farrell into a number of Hyde’s planning decisions, which has since been referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Read the full article at the Sunday Business Post.

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Donnybrook apartment block plan approved on appeal

 A contentious plans for a 10-storey build-to-rent apartment scheme in Donnybrook has been given the green light by An Bord Pleanála. The development is earmarked for the site currently occupied by a Circle K filling station, opposite Donnybrook Stadium. The decision follows a revision by the developers, Red Rock Donnybrook Ltd, at the appeal stage to reduce the height of the development by two floors. But it overturns both the planning refusal by Dublin City Council for the original 12-storey, 84-apartment scheme and over-rules a recommendation for refusal by its own senior planning inspector, Gillian Kane

Read the full article @ The Irish Times

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