Owner of Activist-Occupied Dublin Pub Told to Engage with Community for Planning Permission

 In a fresh twist in the long-running saga of the Ardee House pub in Dublin, the property owner has been advised by Dublin City Council to properly engage with the local community as part of its efforts to secure planning permission for redevelopment.

The building, a former pub, has been occupied by housing activists from the Revolutionary Housing League for some time. According to reports, the group has since been removed from the premises.

Black Sheep Investments, the owner of the property, is now navigating the planning process. The Council has specifically requested that the developer improve its engagement with local residents and stakeholders before proceeding.

Concerns Raised

Among the issues highlighted in the planning discussions are concerns over inadequate private amenity space in the proposed scheme. This is a common sticking point in Dublin residential developments, where councils are increasingly strict on quality-of-life provisions for future residents.

Background

The Ardee House situation gained attention as part of a broader pattern of activist occupations of vacant buildings in Dublin amid the ongoing housing crisis. While the activists have been removed, the redevelopment of the site remains a sensitive local issue.

This latest development from Dublin City Council underscores a growing trend: planning authorities are placing greater emphasis on meaningful community consultation, especially on sites with contentious histories.

Article prepared by BPS Planning & Development Consultants

Government to reflect on Bessborough planning decision

 Taoiseach Micheál Martin has reiterated the Government will reflect on the planning permission granted to build apartments on the site of the former Bessborough mother and baby homes site in Co Cork. The Coalition has faced cross-party calls from Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats, the Labour Party and People Before Profit to bring the site into public ownership and to stop any construction on the site. During Leaders' Questions, Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns repeated her recent calls for the Government to carry out a compulsory purchase order of the site. The Cork South West TD said Cork City Council had twice voted to carry out a CPO on the Bessborough site, including as recently as two weeks ago. However, the local authority does not have the capital to buy the land itself. She said it was "highly likely burials had taken place on this land", amid claims of as many as 900 burials on the site".

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New rules for modular homes published — here is what's changed

 Under the new rules, householders will be able to add a detached residential unit linked to the main house, without planning permission, provided it measures between 32sq m and 45sq m. A separate exemption will allow the subdivision of an existing home into two self-contained units. Each unit must have a minimum floor area of 32sq m. The regulations will also permit the addition of a dormer roof box and/or roof lights to a principal residence without planning permission. The exemption limit for house extensions will increase from 40sq m to 45sq m. Meanwhile, the exemption for structures such as sheds, storage units, home offices and gyms in back gardens will rise from 25sq m to 30sq m. However, a subdivided house will not be permitted to have a modular dwelling in its garden without planning permission. Such developments will continue to require formal approval.

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Garden cabin regulations and other planning changes to be signed in the coming days

 REGULATIONS TO ALLOW homeowners to build modular units up to 45 square metres in their back gardens without planning permission will be signed in the coming days.  Appearing before an Oireachtas committee today, Minister of State in the Department of Housing John Cummins said while a lot of media attention has been focused on cabins in gardens, there other planning changes being made too. These include a new exemption that will allow a person subdivide their home into two units, with a minimum floor area for each subdivided unit of 32 square metres. Bike and bin storage units in both the front and back of a property will no longer require planning permission, nor will the insulation on external walls.  Dormer roof box and the insertion of a roof light in a house will also be exempt from planning permission requirements. 

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Planning granted for 106 apartments at site of former mother and baby home in Cork

A developer has been granted planning permission for more than 100 apartments at the site of the former Bessborough mother and baby home in Cork.
Earlier this year, developer Estuary View Enterprises was granted planning permission by Cork City Council to build 140 apartments at the site.
However, the Bessborough Mother and Baby Home Support Group and Cllr Peter Horgan of the Labour Party lodged appeals with An Coimisiún Pleanála.
On Thursday the commission upheld permission for 106 apartments. One apartment block has been removed from the plans after the appeals body said it would adversely affect the historic landscape and the setting of Bessborough House, which is a protected structure.

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Residents object to plan to turn former hardware store on Baggot Street into pub

Plans for a new gastropub for Baggot Street Upper in Dublin 4 would represent a further significant step in converting the area into a strip of cafes, bars and eateries catering for office workers rather than the local community, a residents group has warned in an objection to the planning application. The Upper Leeson Street Area Residents’ Association (ULSARA) is objecting to plans by Tom Doone to convert a vacant retail unit into a gastropub on the ground floor, with three residential units on the upper floors at 21 Baggot Street Upper at Dublin 4, which was formerly a Weirs hardware store.

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Ires Reit’s plan for 38 apartments in Tallaght rejected over impact to nearby homes

 Landlord Ires Reit has been refused permission for a new apartment block in Tallaght, Dublin, following an appeal to An Coimisiún Pleanála. The property group had applied for permission in January to build a six-storey block of 38 apartments on a 0.34 hectare site formally known as Bruce House on Main Road in Tallaght, Dublin 24.
The application was granted permission by South Dublin County Council on the condition Ires Reit included more three-bed apartments in the block, which would reduce the total number of apartments in the development to 33 units. The company appealed the ruling by the local authority to An Coimisiún Pleanála on the grounds the reduced scale of the project would compromise the viability of the scheme.

Read the full article @ The Irish Times

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