FAST-FOOD GIANT McDonald’s is planning to locate a “drive-thru” restaurant backing on to a primary school in a residential area of Sandymount, Dublin 4.
The proposed restaurant would be located on Beach Road, close to Sandymount Strand, and about halfway between the new Aviva Stadium at Lansdowne Road and the 02 arena.
The site was formerly the Winfield Motors car showrooms and is now owned by Maxol Ltd, which operates an adjacent petrol station. Maxol has applied to Dublin City Council for planning permission to demolish the car showrooms and construct a drive-thru restaurant.
The site notice and the planning application do not mention the restaurant would be a McDonald’s franchise. However, supporting documentation submitted to the council by the applicants states it would be a “drive-thru McDonald’s restaurant”.
The application proposes opening hours from 7am to 11pm daily and seeks permission for 25 car park spaces.
A spokesman for McDonald’s yesterday confirmed that, if permission were granted, the new development would be a “flagship” restaurant for Dublin.
Local residents said the proposal was completely unsuitable for the area, would worsen already-congested traffic and would lead to an increase in anti-social behaviour. They have also accused the applicants of being deliberately misleading in not stipulating the restaurant would be a McDonald’s.
Local Labour councillor Kevin Humphreys, who has lodged an objection to the development, said the proposal was “totally unacceptable” and could not be allowed to go ahead.
“This is already an extremely congested junction. The proposed location is close to the Aviva Stadium, the O2 and Irishtown Stadium and if this McDonald’s drive-thru was allowed, there would be compete gridlock. The traffic implications alone would make this development unacceptable.”
However, in addition to the traffic problems, there were real concerns for the health of children in the area, Mr Humphreys said. The site backs on to St Mathew’s primary school and is also close to the Star of the Sea primary school.
Several local councils in Britain are considering introducing fast-food-free zones around schools to tackle the growing obesity epidemic.
A number of other objectors to the application have criticised the plans to locate a fast-food restaurant so close to two schools that operate a healthy eating policy.
Several objectors said the proposed restaurant would “substantially alter the settled, peaceful and residential nature of this older part of Dublin”. They also criticised the lack of consultation with local residents.
The applicants said the drive-thru element would account for about 29 per cent of the restaurant’s sales and thus would be ancillary to the restaurant element. They also estimate the restaurant would create 60 full-time and 40 part-time jobs, as well as indirect jobs through the supply chain.
The closing date for submissions to Dublin City Council on the application is August 12th.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Showing posts with label planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label planning. Show all posts
Wednesday, 4 August 2010
Saturday, 8 August 2009
Shifting port out of Dublin 'not justified'
THE COSTS of closing Dublin Port and relocating its operations out of the city would not be justified, a report commissioned by Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey has found.
The report, which has been welcomed by the Dublin Port Company, comes just weeks before the Bord Pleanála hearing on the company’s plans to infill 52 acres of Dublin Bay for the expansion of the port.
An Bord Pleanála has received more than 100 objections to the plans, including a submission from Dublin City Council which stated that the application was “premature”, without adequate justification, and could cause flooding.
However, the new report from economic consultants Indecon found that the expansion of the port would benefit the economy.
Indecon was commissioned by Mr Dempsey last year to examine the future of the port, concentrating on the costs and benefits of relocation, expansion, or keeping Dublin port at its current size and locating new port development out of the city.
Its report found that while there was a decline in port activity due to the recession, there would be a need to develop additional capacity within the next 20 years. Indecon’s analysis said the expansion proposal was the best economic option, with the retention of the current port combined with a new port outside the city following a close second.
The least economically beneficial option would be the closure and relocation the port, it said. This conclusion is in direct conflict with a city council report, the Dublin Bay study, which recommended the port be moved out of the city and the lands be used to develop a new “city quarter”.
Indecon agrees that the closure would have “city-wide sustainability benefits” in stemming urban sprawl. However, this would not justify the cost involved in developing a sufficiently large new port, disrupting existing port businesses, and increasing transport and distribution distances.
It also states that the residential development value of the land is now much lower than judged by the council and it would take several decades before it would be absorbed by the market.
The report also rates highly plans, promoted by Treasury Holdings and the Drogheda Port Company, to develop Bremore port near Balbriggan in north Dublin, as a provider of the necessary additional capacity if the port was not expanded.
It notes that both developments were subject to “uncertainties” such as the planning process, but said that if neither proceeded or if equivalent capacity was not found, it would “result in significant damage to the Irish economy”. It recommends against putting any Government policy in place that would block either development.
Dublin Bay Watch, which opposes the expansion plans, said it was a “strange coincidence” the report was issued just weeks before the planning hearing and added that the infill would result in large environmental fines.
In a statement yesterday the port company said the report confirmed the strategic importance of the port and that the “real value of Dublin Port is as a vital piece of infrastructure driving Irish trade rather than a property play”.
The Bord Pleanála hearing begins on August 31st and is likely to last several weeks.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The report, which has been welcomed by the Dublin Port Company, comes just weeks before the Bord Pleanála hearing on the company’s plans to infill 52 acres of Dublin Bay for the expansion of the port.
An Bord Pleanála has received more than 100 objections to the plans, including a submission from Dublin City Council which stated that the application was “premature”, without adequate justification, and could cause flooding.
However, the new report from economic consultants Indecon found that the expansion of the port would benefit the economy.
Indecon was commissioned by Mr Dempsey last year to examine the future of the port, concentrating on the costs and benefits of relocation, expansion, or keeping Dublin port at its current size and locating new port development out of the city.
Its report found that while there was a decline in port activity due to the recession, there would be a need to develop additional capacity within the next 20 years. Indecon’s analysis said the expansion proposal was the best economic option, with the retention of the current port combined with a new port outside the city following a close second.
The least economically beneficial option would be the closure and relocation the port, it said. This conclusion is in direct conflict with a city council report, the Dublin Bay study, which recommended the port be moved out of the city and the lands be used to develop a new “city quarter”.
Indecon agrees that the closure would have “city-wide sustainability benefits” in stemming urban sprawl. However, this would not justify the cost involved in developing a sufficiently large new port, disrupting existing port businesses, and increasing transport and distribution distances.
It also states that the residential development value of the land is now much lower than judged by the council and it would take several decades before it would be absorbed by the market.
The report also rates highly plans, promoted by Treasury Holdings and the Drogheda Port Company, to develop Bremore port near Balbriggan in north Dublin, as a provider of the necessary additional capacity if the port was not expanded.
It notes that both developments were subject to “uncertainties” such as the planning process, but said that if neither proceeded or if equivalent capacity was not found, it would “result in significant damage to the Irish economy”. It recommends against putting any Government policy in place that would block either development.
Dublin Bay Watch, which opposes the expansion plans, said it was a “strange coincidence” the report was issued just weeks before the planning hearing and added that the infill would result in large environmental fines.
In a statement yesterday the port company said the report confirmed the strategic importance of the port and that the “real value of Dublin Port is as a vital piece of infrastructure driving Irish trade rather than a property play”.
The Bord Pleanála hearing begins on August 31st and is likely to last several weeks.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Friday, 8 May 2009
Warning on effects of Cork waste plan
A HAZARDOUS waste incinerator planned for Ringaskiddy in Cork harbour could worsen traffic delays on an already congested route, according to the National Roads Authority (NRA).
In a submission to An Bord Pleanála, the NRA outlined its position on the effect the proposed incinerator might have on the surrounding road network.
NRA regional manager Paul Moran told a hearing on the proposed waste facility that while the authority was not opposed to the project in principle, it could have an adverse effect on traffic.
“The proposal would have the potential to adversely contribute to existing unsatisfactory capacity issues on the N28 and the national road infrastructure within its catchment,” Mr Moran said.
The N28 is a national primary road that links Cork city to Ringaskiddy, where a number of major industries are located, including a deep-water port for Cork, roll-on, roll-off ferry terminal and the headquarters for the Irish Naval Service.
He said lands required for the proposed upgraded N28, which would facilitate the development of the incinerator, were located inside the development lands, raising concerns about the time frame and expense of the project.
“The authority notes with concern that these lands are designated for stockpiling material and also as the construction site for the transfer station facility.
“This raised concerns regarding planning, compensation, timing issues and reclamation requirements which could arise in the context of the authority’s advancement of the proposed N28 road scheme,” Mr Moran said.
The NRA asked that no work as part of the incinerator development take place on such lands without its consent.
The authority also asked that no funds from the exchequer be used to cater for specific works intended to serve the proposed development, such as access to the incinerator site.
NRA senior policy adviser in planning, Tara Spain, said the authority had a clearly defined programme of work up until the end of 2010, but no precise guarantees could be given to any other projects in terms of timeframe, because of uncertain funding for future NRA projects.
However, planning and design of the proposed N28 had been “substantially completed”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
In a submission to An Bord Pleanála, the NRA outlined its position on the effect the proposed incinerator might have on the surrounding road network.
NRA regional manager Paul Moran told a hearing on the proposed waste facility that while the authority was not opposed to the project in principle, it could have an adverse effect on traffic.
“The proposal would have the potential to adversely contribute to existing unsatisfactory capacity issues on the N28 and the national road infrastructure within its catchment,” Mr Moran said.
The N28 is a national primary road that links Cork city to Ringaskiddy, where a number of major industries are located, including a deep-water port for Cork, roll-on, roll-off ferry terminal and the headquarters for the Irish Naval Service.
He said lands required for the proposed upgraded N28, which would facilitate the development of the incinerator, were located inside the development lands, raising concerns about the time frame and expense of the project.
“The authority notes with concern that these lands are designated for stockpiling material and also as the construction site for the transfer station facility.
“This raised concerns regarding planning, compensation, timing issues and reclamation requirements which could arise in the context of the authority’s advancement of the proposed N28 road scheme,” Mr Moran said.
The NRA asked that no work as part of the incinerator development take place on such lands without its consent.
The authority also asked that no funds from the exchequer be used to cater for specific works intended to serve the proposed development, such as access to the incinerator site.
NRA senior policy adviser in planning, Tara Spain, said the authority had a clearly defined programme of work up until the end of 2010, but no precise guarantees could be given to any other projects in terms of timeframe, because of uncertain funding for future NRA projects.
However, planning and design of the proposed N28 had been “substantially completed”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Friday, 3 April 2009
EPA calls for move to low-carbon economy
ECONOMIC RECOVERY when it comes must involve Ireland developing a low-carbon “smart, green economy”, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said yesterday.
Launching the agency’s annual highlights for 2008, EPA director general Dr Mary Kelly said the environment was “an asset under threat” and early warnings about the potentially catastrophic effects of climate change “must be heeded”.
While she said there was little indication of the scale of the economic crisis the world was facing in early 2008, Dr Kelly warned that the economic crisis was now coinciding “with a climate-change crisis and an ecosystems crisis”.
She said the State investment in environmental infrastructure must now be given priority to ensure Ireland “in the first instance catches up to European norms in key areas like waste-water treatment and the provision of good-quality drinking water to all consumers”.
Dr Kelly said “fundamental change” was required to ensure that economic recovery was based on low-carbon, sustainable principles.
She said there were clearly many economic and social advantages in developing a green economy.
She claimed Ireland had a real opportunity to become a world leader in renewable energies and to position itself as a net exporter of energy in years to come.
Looking at the highlights of 2008, she said the agency’s fourth, state-of-the-environment report, Ireland’s Environment 2008, was undoubtedly a flagship report.
The report detailed the four main environmental challenges for Ireland. They are:
- Limiting and adapting to climate change;
- Reversing environmental degradation – particularly in relation to water pollution and the conservation status of habitats;
- Mainstreaming environmental considerations across all sectors of the economy;
- Complying with environmental legislation and agreements.
As part of its research programme, the EPA has also been working with the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and Teagasc on the development of a new way of forecasting how economic and social developments will affect the environment.
Called the ISus project – for Irish sustainable development model – it allows the agency to predict the impact of future developments on the production of waste and the generation of potentially polluting substances such as acidifying gases and greenhouse gases.
The year 2008 was also a significant year for water protection and management, with the first full year’s supervision of the production of drinking water and the introduction of licensing for sewage discharges.
Other significant events were the granting of a waste licence to Dublin City Council for an incinerator, and the taking of 20 prosecutions at District Court level.
The publication of a National Hazardous Waste Management Plan was also completed in 2008.
This plan made 29 recommendations that, when implemented, will reduce the generation of hazardous waste and ensure that all hazardous waste is collected and managed appropriately.
It will also increase Ireland’s self-sufficiency in hazardous waste management, and deal with the legacy and contamination of past practices involving hazardous materials.
The EPA also highlighted the difficulties facing Ireland in relation to meeting the targets for diversion of biodegradable municipal waste from landfill and set out a number of options for dealing with the issue.
This will be a major issue for Ireland in the coming years, according to the agency.
EPA: Priorities
Environmental Protection Agency priorities in 2009 will include:
- ensuring economic difficulties faced by environmental licence holders do not result in environmental damage;
- implementing the Hazardous Waste Management Plan;
- continuing water management and protection;
- the development of a risk assessment tool for old dumps;
- the publication of a large biodiversity project AgBiota;
- publication of a National Waste Report, among others;
- ensuring infrastructure is developed for biodegradable waste;
- continuing research into environmental technologies in relation the the ’smart, green economy’;
- ensuring economic recovery is environmentally sustainable;
- fostering environmental research and innovation
- continuing research and advice on climate change
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Launching the agency’s annual highlights for 2008, EPA director general Dr Mary Kelly said the environment was “an asset under threat” and early warnings about the potentially catastrophic effects of climate change “must be heeded”.
While she said there was little indication of the scale of the economic crisis the world was facing in early 2008, Dr Kelly warned that the economic crisis was now coinciding “with a climate-change crisis and an ecosystems crisis”.
She said the State investment in environmental infrastructure must now be given priority to ensure Ireland “in the first instance catches up to European norms in key areas like waste-water treatment and the provision of good-quality drinking water to all consumers”.
Dr Kelly said “fundamental change” was required to ensure that economic recovery was based on low-carbon, sustainable principles.
She said there were clearly many economic and social advantages in developing a green economy.
She claimed Ireland had a real opportunity to become a world leader in renewable energies and to position itself as a net exporter of energy in years to come.
Looking at the highlights of 2008, she said the agency’s fourth, state-of-the-environment report, Ireland’s Environment 2008, was undoubtedly a flagship report.
The report detailed the four main environmental challenges for Ireland. They are:
- Limiting and adapting to climate change;
- Reversing environmental degradation – particularly in relation to water pollution and the conservation status of habitats;
- Mainstreaming environmental considerations across all sectors of the economy;
- Complying with environmental legislation and agreements.
As part of its research programme, the EPA has also been working with the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and Teagasc on the development of a new way of forecasting how economic and social developments will affect the environment.
Called the ISus project – for Irish sustainable development model – it allows the agency to predict the impact of future developments on the production of waste and the generation of potentially polluting substances such as acidifying gases and greenhouse gases.
The year 2008 was also a significant year for water protection and management, with the first full year’s supervision of the production of drinking water and the introduction of licensing for sewage discharges.
Other significant events were the granting of a waste licence to Dublin City Council for an incinerator, and the taking of 20 prosecutions at District Court level.
The publication of a National Hazardous Waste Management Plan was also completed in 2008.
This plan made 29 recommendations that, when implemented, will reduce the generation of hazardous waste and ensure that all hazardous waste is collected and managed appropriately.
It will also increase Ireland’s self-sufficiency in hazardous waste management, and deal with the legacy and contamination of past practices involving hazardous materials.
The EPA also highlighted the difficulties facing Ireland in relation to meeting the targets for diversion of biodegradable municipal waste from landfill and set out a number of options for dealing with the issue.
This will be a major issue for Ireland in the coming years, according to the agency.
EPA: Priorities
Environmental Protection Agency priorities in 2009 will include:
- ensuring economic difficulties faced by environmental licence holders do not result in environmental damage;
- implementing the Hazardous Waste Management Plan;
- continuing water management and protection;
- the development of a risk assessment tool for old dumps;
- the publication of a large biodiversity project AgBiota;
- publication of a National Waste Report, among others;
- ensuring infrastructure is developed for biodegradable waste;
- continuing research into environmental technologies in relation the the ’smart, green economy’;
- ensuring economic recovery is environmentally sustainable;
- fostering environmental research and innovation
- continuing research and advice on climate change
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 16 March 2009
€100m plan for station is on track
IARNROD Eireann is to press ahead with plans to build a €100m skyscraper to incorporate a new train station in the middle of Dublin, despite the economic downturn, writes Paul Melia.
And it says it is confident of finding a development partner to build a 10-storey, 60-metre-high office development at Tara Street, pictured right in this architect's illustration.
The rail company will apply this month for planning permission to build a €100m office block and new train station which will allow up to 14,500 passengers an hour to access the DART and other rail services.
One of the busiest stations on the network, Tara Street handles 25,000 passengers a day, or 20pc of all people using the network.
DART and commuter services will increase from 12 services per hour each way to 20 after the city centre resignalling project is completed.
The station will remain open during the construction period.
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
And it says it is confident of finding a development partner to build a 10-storey, 60-metre-high office development at Tara Street, pictured right in this architect's illustration.
The rail company will apply this month for planning permission to build a €100m office block and new train station which will allow up to 14,500 passengers an hour to access the DART and other rail services.
One of the busiest stations on the network, Tara Street handles 25,000 passengers a day, or 20pc of all people using the network.
DART and commuter services will increase from 12 services per hour each way to 20 after the city centre resignalling project is completed.
The station will remain open during the construction period.
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 8 March 2009
Challenge to student residence 'unrealistic'
PLANNING LAWS are not intended to make life impossible for developers or local authorities, the Supreme Court has said as it dismissed a local man’s challenge to planning permission for TCD’s student residences in Dartry, Dublin.
The laws are not there to “encourage fine-tooth combing or nit-picking scrutiny” of works, Mr Justice Nial Fennelly said. He was giving the unanimous judgment of the three-judge court rejecting an appeal by James Kenny over the redevelopment of Trinity College Dublin’s student residences opposite Mr Kenny’s home in Dartry for which planning permission was sought and granted nearly 10 years ago.
The Trinity Hall residences building, between Palmerston Park and Temple Road, have since been completed at a cost of €95 million and contain 180 apartments with a 400-seat dining facility.
Dublin City Council’s planning approval was appealed by Mr Kenny and Dartry Residents Association, of which he is a member. In 2000 An Bord Pleanála upheld the decision, subject to 19 conditions.
Mr Kenny contested the validity of this alleging the college was not in compliance with the conditions but the council later ruled there was compliance.
Mr Kenny then brought judicial review proceedings which were rejected by the High Court and his appeal against that decision was dismissed by the Supreme Court yesterday.
Referring to a “multiplicity” of other proceedings which Mr Kenny had brought over this matter, Mr Justice Fennelly said this was not the first “and may not be the last” case in which Mr Kenny contested the planning permission for Trinity Hall.
The judge said he needed to mention some “simple matters of common sense” as Mr Kenny had asked the court to examine, in some respects, the fine details of the development.
The judge said there will inevitably be small departures from some or even many of the plans and drawings in every development. It seemed improbable any development is ever carried out in “literal compliance” with the plans.
Where there are material departures, there are enforcement procedures open to the local authorities to deal with them, he said.
“However, planning laws are not intended to make life impossible for developers, for those executing works such as architects, engineers and contractors, or for the planning authorities in supervising them,” the judge said.
Dismissing Mr Kenny’s claim there should have been a new planning application because of the omission of one floor from one of the buildings, Mr Justice Fennelly said this was “unrealistic and pointless”. He also rejected as without merit Mr Kenny’s claim the permission did not allow for boiler facilities and other plant to be placed in roof spaces of two buildings.
Another complaint about an increase of 16 in the number of bed spaces in one building was also without merit, the judge said. These were minor adjustments and a matter of detail dealt with by the council in accordance with normal procedure.
On another complaint about the proximity of underground works to existing trees, the judge said Mr Kenny had demonstrated “a very minor, not to say trivial” discrepancy. The court would not quash the entire decision based on “such an inconsequential discrepancy”.
The judge agreed with the High Court’s finding that TCD had been prejudiced by Mr Kenny’s delay in bringing his proceedings. Mr Kenny had failed promptly to apply for judicial review proceedings in 2002, when part of the development was 100 per cent complete, even though he had with “determination and tenacity” opposed it throughout the planning stages.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The laws are not there to “encourage fine-tooth combing or nit-picking scrutiny” of works, Mr Justice Nial Fennelly said. He was giving the unanimous judgment of the three-judge court rejecting an appeal by James Kenny over the redevelopment of Trinity College Dublin’s student residences opposite Mr Kenny’s home in Dartry for which planning permission was sought and granted nearly 10 years ago.
The Trinity Hall residences building, between Palmerston Park and Temple Road, have since been completed at a cost of €95 million and contain 180 apartments with a 400-seat dining facility.
Dublin City Council’s planning approval was appealed by Mr Kenny and Dartry Residents Association, of which he is a member. In 2000 An Bord Pleanála upheld the decision, subject to 19 conditions.
Mr Kenny contested the validity of this alleging the college was not in compliance with the conditions but the council later ruled there was compliance.
Mr Kenny then brought judicial review proceedings which were rejected by the High Court and his appeal against that decision was dismissed by the Supreme Court yesterday.
Referring to a “multiplicity” of other proceedings which Mr Kenny had brought over this matter, Mr Justice Fennelly said this was not the first “and may not be the last” case in which Mr Kenny contested the planning permission for Trinity Hall.
The judge said he needed to mention some “simple matters of common sense” as Mr Kenny had asked the court to examine, in some respects, the fine details of the development.
The judge said there will inevitably be small departures from some or even many of the plans and drawings in every development. It seemed improbable any development is ever carried out in “literal compliance” with the plans.
Where there are material departures, there are enforcement procedures open to the local authorities to deal with them, he said.
“However, planning laws are not intended to make life impossible for developers, for those executing works such as architects, engineers and contractors, or for the planning authorities in supervising them,” the judge said.
Dismissing Mr Kenny’s claim there should have been a new planning application because of the omission of one floor from one of the buildings, Mr Justice Fennelly said this was “unrealistic and pointless”. He also rejected as without merit Mr Kenny’s claim the permission did not allow for boiler facilities and other plant to be placed in roof spaces of two buildings.
Another complaint about an increase of 16 in the number of bed spaces in one building was also without merit, the judge said. These were minor adjustments and a matter of detail dealt with by the council in accordance with normal procedure.
On another complaint about the proximity of underground works to existing trees, the judge said Mr Kenny had demonstrated “a very minor, not to say trivial” discrepancy. The court would not quash the entire decision based on “such an inconsequential discrepancy”.
The judge agreed with the High Court’s finding that TCD had been prejudiced by Mr Kenny’s delay in bringing his proceedings. Mr Kenny had failed promptly to apply for judicial review proceedings in 2002, when part of the development was 100 per cent complete, even though he had with “determination and tenacity” opposed it throughout the planning stages.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 14 December 2008
Mellon submits Knockrabo plans
Developer and entrepreneur Niall Mellon of Knockrabo Developments has applied for further changes to the proposed development on part of the former Bank of Ireland sports grounds in Knockrabo, Goatstown, south Dublin.
The 6.1-acre site, located off Mount Anville Road, adjoins a reservation for a major road development, the Sandyford to St Helen’s link road, which has yet to be finalised by the National Roads Authority.
The site is also bounded by the mature residential Ardilea Downs estate, some residents of which have already opposed the development. Last week, Mellon lodged revised plans to Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council for a development of 85 residential units and a 223 square met re creche.
If granted, the properties will comprise 27 four and five-bedroom houses and 58 apartments laid out over three five-storey blocks. Permission has also been sought for the refurbishment of existing protected gate lodge and entrance piers of Knockrabo House, protected structures, to their original condition.
Mellon is also looking to build a new entrance off Mount Anville Road. Knockrabo Developments also submitted revised plans on the site last April, when it reduced the number of proposed residential units to 85 properties.
It has been almost four years since Mellon was refused planning permission by an Bord Pleanala for a development of more than 360 residential units on the site.
Mellon, who also is behind the trust which builds houses for the homeless in South Africa, purchased the site for €50 million in 2003 from Michael Roden’s Merrion Property Group. The Merrion Group, which had paid €25.4 million for the 23.6 acres at the end of 1999, had originally proposed a 569-unit development on the grounds.
O’Malley Developments is also seeking to build houses at Knockrabo. The developer bought a portion of the site from Knockrabo Developments in an off-market deal, but in 2007 An Bord Pleanala refused O’Malley Developments planning permission for a 129-unit housing scheme.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
The 6.1-acre site, located off Mount Anville Road, adjoins a reservation for a major road development, the Sandyford to St Helen’s link road, which has yet to be finalised by the National Roads Authority.
The site is also bounded by the mature residential Ardilea Downs estate, some residents of which have already opposed the development. Last week, Mellon lodged revised plans to Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council for a development of 85 residential units and a 223 square met re creche.
If granted, the properties will comprise 27 four and five-bedroom houses and 58 apartments laid out over three five-storey blocks. Permission has also been sought for the refurbishment of existing protected gate lodge and entrance piers of Knockrabo House, protected structures, to their original condition.
Mellon is also looking to build a new entrance off Mount Anville Road. Knockrabo Developments also submitted revised plans on the site last April, when it reduced the number of proposed residential units to 85 properties.
It has been almost four years since Mellon was refused planning permission by an Bord Pleanala for a development of more than 360 residential units on the site.
Mellon, who also is behind the trust which builds houses for the homeless in South Africa, purchased the site for €50 million in 2003 from Michael Roden’s Merrion Property Group. The Merrion Group, which had paid €25.4 million for the 23.6 acres at the end of 1999, had originally proposed a 569-unit development on the grounds.
O’Malley Developments is also seeking to build houses at Knockrabo. The developer bought a portion of the site from Knockrabo Developments in an off-market deal, but in 2007 An Bord Pleanala refused O’Malley Developments planning permission for a 129-unit housing scheme.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
Mellon submits Knockrabo plans
Developer and entrepreneur Niall Mellon of Knockrabo Developments has applied for further changes to the proposed development on part of the former Bank of Ireland sports grounds in Knockrabo, Goatstown, south Dublin.
The 6.1-acre site, located off Mount Anville Road, adjoins a reservation for a major road development, the Sandyford to St Helen’s link road, which has yet to be finalised by the National Roads Authority.
The site is also bounded by the mature residential Ardilea Downs estate, some residents of which have already opposed the development. Last week, Mellon lodged revised plans to Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council for a development of 85 residential units and a 223 square met re creche.
If granted, the properties will comprise 27 four and five-bedroom houses and 58 apartments laid out over three five-storey blocks. Permission has also been sought for the refurbishment of existing protected gate lodge and entrance piers of Knockrabo House, protected structures, to their original condition.
Mellon is also looking to build a new entrance off Mount Anville Road. Knockrabo Developments also submitted revised plans on the site last April, when it reduced the number of proposed residential units to 85 properties.
It has been almost four years since Mellon was refused planning permission by an Bord Pleanala for a development of more than 360 residential units on the site.
Mellon, who also is behind the trust which builds houses for the homeless in South Africa, purchased the site for €50 million in 2003 from Michael Roden’s Merrion Property Group. The Merrion Group, which had paid €25.4 million for the 23.6 acres at the end of 1999, had originally proposed a 569-unit development on the grounds.
O’Malley Developments is also seeking to build houses at Knockrabo. The developer bought a portion of the site from Knockrabo Developments in an off-market deal, but in 2007 An Bord Pleanala refused O’Malley Developments planning permission for a 129-unit housing scheme.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
The 6.1-acre site, located off Mount Anville Road, adjoins a reservation for a major road development, the Sandyford to St Helen’s link road, which has yet to be finalised by the National Roads Authority.
The site is also bounded by the mature residential Ardilea Downs estate, some residents of which have already opposed the development. Last week, Mellon lodged revised plans to Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council for a development of 85 residential units and a 223 square met re creche.
If granted, the properties will comprise 27 four and five-bedroom houses and 58 apartments laid out over three five-storey blocks. Permission has also been sought for the refurbishment of existing protected gate lodge and entrance piers of Knockrabo House, protected structures, to their original condition.
Mellon is also looking to build a new entrance off Mount Anville Road. Knockrabo Developments also submitted revised plans on the site last April, when it reduced the number of proposed residential units to 85 properties.
It has been almost four years since Mellon was refused planning permission by an Bord Pleanala for a development of more than 360 residential units on the site.
Mellon, who also is behind the trust which builds houses for the homeless in South Africa, purchased the site for €50 million in 2003 from Michael Roden’s Merrion Property Group. The Merrion Group, which had paid €25.4 million for the 23.6 acres at the end of 1999, had originally proposed a 569-unit development on the grounds.
O’Malley Developments is also seeking to build houses at Knockrabo. The developer bought a portion of the site from Knockrabo Developments in an off-market deal, but in 2007 An Bord Pleanala refused O’Malley Developments planning permission for a 129-unit housing scheme.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 20 November 2008
Balbriggan plan appealed
MOYLARAGH ROAD Residents has appealed a scheme of over 1,000 homes beside their estate in Balbriggan, Co Dublin. They say it is causing them serious concern due to the high density planned for the site and that the large number of apartments will result in "wholesale rental accommodation" which will lead to a transient population and anti-social behaviour. The residents are "at a loss to understand" how Fingal County Council can justify its decision to grant permission for the scheme.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 5 October 2008
An Taisce celebrates anniversary
Environmental and heritage group An Taisce is 60 years old today.
The organisation has been safeguarding sites of national importance since 1948. Among its achievements over the past six decades is the setting up of the Green Schools Scheme and the Blue Flag scheme for beaches.
An Taisce volunteers also manage 16 national heritage properties including Kanturk Castle in Cork and Tailors Hall in Dublin.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
The organisation has been safeguarding sites of national importance since 1948. Among its achievements over the past six decades is the setting up of the Green Schools Scheme and the Blue Flag scheme for beaches.
An Taisce volunteers also manage 16 national heritage properties including Kanturk Castle in Cork and Tailors Hall in Dublin.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
Tuesday, 19 August 2008
Flatley’s 9,100 sq ft island idyll rejected by planners
PLANS by dancer Michael Flatley to build a "modest" holiday retreat covering more than 9,000 square feet of a Co Kerry island have been rejected.
Kerry County Council yesterday refused planning permission for a proposal to build a cottage several times larger than an average family home on Rossmore island in Kenmare Bay.
The Lord of the Dance star had already scaled back plans for a 70,000 sq ft mansion, but planners decided the smaller proposal was out of character with the “sensitive” landscape of the area.
Flatley (50) had proposed an L-shaped one-and-a-half storey building, of 9,100 sq ft, to include a guest wing, staff quarters, central fountain, garage and playroom.
Refused
Described as “a modern interpretation of a traditional thatched cottage”, it was to be located at the island’s eastern edge and would be entered by a private laneway and would only be visible from the water. Among the project’s supporters were former Mayor of Kerry, Michael Healy-Rae.
Kerry Councty Council planners rejected the scheme on the grounds of its “design, scale and bulk, on an elevated, open and exposed site”.
It was also refused because the design was not “sympathetic” to the building it was to replace and would contravene the country development plan.
The planning authority also raised concerns about whether effluent could be adequately disposed of at the site.
“The proposed development would, therefore, be prejudicial to public health,” it added.
Flatley, who made his name with Riverdance, already owns Castlehyde House near Fermoy, Co Cork, which he restored at a cost of €50m. The restoration of the former home of Ireland’s first president, Douglas Hyde, has been hailed as the most impressive privately-funded project ever undertaken in the country. Flatley also has homes in Barbados, Chicago, France and London.
The decision can be appealed, and if it eventually gets the goahead Flatley’s neighbours would include the Smurfit family who have had a holiday home near Rossdohan in the Ring of Kerry and car importers the O'Flahertys.
Rossmore is only a few minutes’ drive from the gourmet attractions of Kenmare, Sneem and Parknasilla by bridge.
Paul Melia and Olivia Kelleher
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Kerry County Council yesterday refused planning permission for a proposal to build a cottage several times larger than an average family home on Rossmore island in Kenmare Bay.
The Lord of the Dance star had already scaled back plans for a 70,000 sq ft mansion, but planners decided the smaller proposal was out of character with the “sensitive” landscape of the area.
Flatley (50) had proposed an L-shaped one-and-a-half storey building, of 9,100 sq ft, to include a guest wing, staff quarters, central fountain, garage and playroom.
Refused
Described as “a modern interpretation of a traditional thatched cottage”, it was to be located at the island’s eastern edge and would be entered by a private laneway and would only be visible from the water. Among the project’s supporters were former Mayor of Kerry, Michael Healy-Rae.
Kerry Councty Council planners rejected the scheme on the grounds of its “design, scale and bulk, on an elevated, open and exposed site”.
It was also refused because the design was not “sympathetic” to the building it was to replace and would contravene the country development plan.
The planning authority also raised concerns about whether effluent could be adequately disposed of at the site.
“The proposed development would, therefore, be prejudicial to public health,” it added.
Flatley, who made his name with Riverdance, already owns Castlehyde House near Fermoy, Co Cork, which he restored at a cost of €50m. The restoration of the former home of Ireland’s first president, Douglas Hyde, has been hailed as the most impressive privately-funded project ever undertaken in the country. Flatley also has homes in Barbados, Chicago, France and London.
The decision can be appealed, and if it eventually gets the goahead Flatley’s neighbours would include the Smurfit family who have had a holiday home near Rossdohan in the Ring of Kerry and car importers the O'Flahertys.
Rossmore is only a few minutes’ drive from the gourmet attractions of Kenmare, Sneem and Parknasilla by bridge.
Paul Melia and Olivia Kelleher
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Friday, 8 August 2008
New powers on CPO for An Bord Pleanála
A NEW Harbours Bill will give State-owned port companies the power to invest outside their own harbours as part of a Government move to encourage the ports to boost their commercial activities.
The Bill, announced by Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey, facilitates the proposed building of a new deepwater port at Bremore in north Co Dublin by Drogheda Port Company.
Mr Dempsey said the Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008 will allow the 10 State port companies to pursue a "robust commercial agenda" both in and outside the State and would boost the commercial mandate given to them in the Harbours Act, 1996.
Drogheda Port Company asked the Department of Transport for permission to alter its geographic limits to proceed with its proposal for a €300 million port at Bremore, which it is developing with a property firm ultimately owned by Treasury Holdings.
After taking advice from the Attorney General, the Government decided that an amendment to the 1996 Act was necessary.
The change to the rules will also facilitate plans by other State ports to expand in order to meet the State's future trade needs.
"Notwithstanding the current economic slowdown, the port authorities should continue to plan for growth in the medium and long term. This legislation is designed to help them do that," Mr Dempsey said.
The port companies will be given greater powers and flexibility to borrow money to add to their capacity under the Bill.
The ports will be permitted to borrow up to €200 million or 50 per cent of the value of their assets with the consent of the Minister for Transport, with the Minister having the power to vary this percentage depending on the needs and stability of the port.
Among the other changes in the bill is a proposal to cut the number of directors on a port company board from 12 to eight, with one local authority member appointed to the boards from among the Minister's statutory nominees.
Port companies will be obliged to follow Government guidelines in relation to the disposal as well as the acquisition of land. Under the Bill, An Bord Pleanála will in future deal with compulsory acquisition of land by port companies, not the Minister of Transport. The 10 State-owned port companies are in Dublin, Cork, Drogheda, Dundalk, Dún Laoghaire, Shannon/Foynes, Galway, New Ross, Waterford and Wicklow.
Despite the recession, Irish exports are still growing, putting further pressure on the east coast ports in particular. Some 95 per cent of Irish manufacturing exports pass through sea ports, with €135 billion of merchandise handled in Irish ports last year.
Bremore Ireland Port last month invited tenders for legal services on development and financing a deepwater port, logistics centre and business park at Bremore. A full planning application for the port is expected to be put forward later this year.
A study on the future of Dublin Port is being prepared for the Government by Indecon consultants and is set to be finalised in 2009. A spokeswoman for the Department of Transport said the future of the Bremore project depended on the outcome of the Dublin Port study.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The Bill, announced by Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey, facilitates the proposed building of a new deepwater port at Bremore in north Co Dublin by Drogheda Port Company.
Mr Dempsey said the Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008 will allow the 10 State port companies to pursue a "robust commercial agenda" both in and outside the State and would boost the commercial mandate given to them in the Harbours Act, 1996.
Drogheda Port Company asked the Department of Transport for permission to alter its geographic limits to proceed with its proposal for a €300 million port at Bremore, which it is developing with a property firm ultimately owned by Treasury Holdings.
After taking advice from the Attorney General, the Government decided that an amendment to the 1996 Act was necessary.
The change to the rules will also facilitate plans by other State ports to expand in order to meet the State's future trade needs.
"Notwithstanding the current economic slowdown, the port authorities should continue to plan for growth in the medium and long term. This legislation is designed to help them do that," Mr Dempsey said.
The port companies will be given greater powers and flexibility to borrow money to add to their capacity under the Bill.
The ports will be permitted to borrow up to €200 million or 50 per cent of the value of their assets with the consent of the Minister for Transport, with the Minister having the power to vary this percentage depending on the needs and stability of the port.
Among the other changes in the bill is a proposal to cut the number of directors on a port company board from 12 to eight, with one local authority member appointed to the boards from among the Minister's statutory nominees.
Port companies will be obliged to follow Government guidelines in relation to the disposal as well as the acquisition of land. Under the Bill, An Bord Pleanála will in future deal with compulsory acquisition of land by port companies, not the Minister of Transport. The 10 State-owned port companies are in Dublin, Cork, Drogheda, Dundalk, Dún Laoghaire, Shannon/Foynes, Galway, New Ross, Waterford and Wicklow.
Despite the recession, Irish exports are still growing, putting further pressure on the east coast ports in particular. Some 95 per cent of Irish manufacturing exports pass through sea ports, with €135 billion of merchandise handled in Irish ports last year.
Bremore Ireland Port last month invited tenders for legal services on development and financing a deepwater port, logistics centre and business park at Bremore. A full planning application for the port is expected to be put forward later this year.
A study on the future of Dublin Port is being prepared for the Government by Indecon consultants and is set to be finalised in 2009. A spokeswoman for the Department of Transport said the future of the Bremore project depended on the outcome of the Dublin Port study.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 17 April 2008
Contentious €25m Lahinch housing plan gets green light
CLARE COUNTY Council has disregarded the objections of the Sisters of Mercy and other Lahinch residents and given permission for a contentious €25 million housing development in the resort.
Brendan O'Doherty, Paul Montgomery, Patrick Montgomery and John McInerney last year lodged plans to develop 114 residential units in the north Clare resort. The application attracted widespread opposition throughout Lahinch, with the nearby Sisters of Mercy describing the plan as a "concrete-jungle" proposal for the north Clare coastal village.
In the plan for a 9.5 acre site on Lahinch's Station Road, the nuns asked the council "to look at this development in light of the serious issues of anti-social behaviour on Station Road and the fact that the services to Lahinch, including sewage, water supply and electricity are seriously over-stretched".
In her submission, local resident Marie O'Donoghue reflected much of local sentiment when she claimed: "The character of the village is destroyed by the construction of too many holiday homes, which in turn is a threat to the tourism on which the village depends."
Ms O'Donoghue supported her argument by quoting from the census which shows that the population of Lahinch fell by 2.9 per cent between 2002 and 2006.
However, the proposed development site was zoned residential. Imposing 44 conditions attached to the permission, the council has reduced the number of residential units to 96, which includes 28 four-bedroom homes and 21 two-bedroom units.
As part of its continuing policy not to grant permission to any holiday homes, the council has placed as a condition that the homes be used as the principal place of residence of the homeowners and that the condition be included in the sale agreement of each home.
The council granted planning permission to the proposal having regard to the location of the site and the land being zoned residential in the North Clare Area Plan, the intended use of the lands and the pattern of development.
Moreover, the council noted the proposed development would not seriously injure the amenities of the area or property in the vicinity.
As part of the permission, the developers are required to pay Clare County Council almost €1 million in developer contributions.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Brendan O'Doherty, Paul Montgomery, Patrick Montgomery and John McInerney last year lodged plans to develop 114 residential units in the north Clare resort. The application attracted widespread opposition throughout Lahinch, with the nearby Sisters of Mercy describing the plan as a "concrete-jungle" proposal for the north Clare coastal village.
In the plan for a 9.5 acre site on Lahinch's Station Road, the nuns asked the council "to look at this development in light of the serious issues of anti-social behaviour on Station Road and the fact that the services to Lahinch, including sewage, water supply and electricity are seriously over-stretched".
In her submission, local resident Marie O'Donoghue reflected much of local sentiment when she claimed: "The character of the village is destroyed by the construction of too many holiday homes, which in turn is a threat to the tourism on which the village depends."
Ms O'Donoghue supported her argument by quoting from the census which shows that the population of Lahinch fell by 2.9 per cent between 2002 and 2006.
However, the proposed development site was zoned residential. Imposing 44 conditions attached to the permission, the council has reduced the number of residential units to 96, which includes 28 four-bedroom homes and 21 two-bedroom units.
As part of its continuing policy not to grant permission to any holiday homes, the council has placed as a condition that the homes be used as the principal place of residence of the homeowners and that the condition be included in the sale agreement of each home.
The council granted planning permission to the proposal having regard to the location of the site and the land being zoned residential in the North Clare Area Plan, the intended use of the lands and the pattern of development.
Moreover, the council noted the proposed development would not seriously injure the amenities of the area or property in the vicinity.
As part of the permission, the developers are required to pay Clare County Council almost €1 million in developer contributions.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 16 April 2008
Patio area planned for Collins home challenged
A PATIO decking area in Kells Bay, Co Kerry, attached to the rebuilding of the residence of former MEP and minister Gerry Collins has run into difficulties after a complaint to the planning department of Kerry County Council.
A private family retreat, the house, with a boathouse and slipway on to the sea, is frequently used by the Collins family.
Mr Collins said he was "devastated" at the burning and immediately set about plans to rebuild it. According to the plans submitted to the council by Mr Collins and his wife Hilary, the split-level bungalow is to be used as a retirement home. The application was lodged in June for reconstruction and extension of the bungalow including "extended patio deck" area. The development was granted permission in October.
The reconstruction is currently under way. However the extent of the decking has attracted a complaint to the council.
According to the Dublin-based complainant, who has been holidaying in the area since childhood, the protruding structure replaced a traditional inconspicuous stone wall and this and the bringing of rock into the area should have required special attention.
The "mound of boulders four metres high" was taking from the appearance of the beach and was visually obtrusive, it was claimed. The complainant also raised the question of a foreshore licence.
Planners have investigated and it is understood they have ruled out the necessity for a foreshore licence. However, they are taking issue with the placing of rock armour on the front of the decking area and are asking that this be addressed.
The Collins's engineers and architects have told the council they believe they are in full compliance with their planning permission.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
A private family retreat, the house, with a boathouse and slipway on to the sea, is frequently used by the Collins family.
Mr Collins said he was "devastated" at the burning and immediately set about plans to rebuild it. According to the plans submitted to the council by Mr Collins and his wife Hilary, the split-level bungalow is to be used as a retirement home. The application was lodged in June for reconstruction and extension of the bungalow including "extended patio deck" area. The development was granted permission in October.
The reconstruction is currently under way. However the extent of the decking has attracted a complaint to the council.
According to the Dublin-based complainant, who has been holidaying in the area since childhood, the protruding structure replaced a traditional inconspicuous stone wall and this and the bringing of rock into the area should have required special attention.
The "mound of boulders four metres high" was taking from the appearance of the beach and was visually obtrusive, it was claimed. The complainant also raised the question of a foreshore licence.
Planners have investigated and it is understood they have ruled out the necessity for a foreshore licence. However, they are taking issue with the placing of rock armour on the front of the decking area and are asking that this be addressed.
The Collins's engineers and architects have told the council they believe they are in full compliance with their planning permission.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Friday, 21 March 2008
An Irishman's Diary
TODAY is World Poetry Day, as designated by Unesco. So it seems as good a time as any to publish this curious document I found recently in a skip. Undated, but yellowing at the edges and clearly quite old, it appears to have originated in the offices of An Bord Pleanála, or possibly that body's predecessor.
Here's what it says:
Inspector's Report re. appeal against proposed erection of dwelling house at Innisfree, Co Sligo.
Planning Authority: Sligo County Council. Applicant: W.B. Yeats. Original decision: Permission granted.
1.0 Site Location: The site, of unspecified acreage, is on a small island in Lough Gill, a short distance south-east of Sligo town. Access is via boat, or by swimming. There are no public footpaths on the island, and no public lighting. However, the area around the lake has been the scene of considerable one-off housing, in some cases constituting ribbon development. The site is located among mature trees, with breaks in foliage affording spectacular views northwards to Ben Bulben.
2.0 Proposed Development: Permission is sought to erect a small, cabin-style dwelling (single occupancy) with adjoining bee-hive, and vegetable garden comprising nine bean rows. Main residence to be constructed of clay and wattles.
3.0 Status of site in development plan: Although the island is zoned for recreational use only, the applicant is exempt from this on the grounds of being a poet. However, the site is also in an area designated "sensitive landscape" and "visually vulnerable".
4.0 Planning Authority's Decision: Permission granted, subject to conditions, of which the following are most relevant:
1. Applicant to use bricks, rather than clay and wattles, which are not approved materials under the Planning Acts. Local stone and/or pebble-dash to be used as cladding.
2. Any member of local authority to be contacted for name of good builder.
3. Bean rows to be fenced off from public access.
4. Appropriate netting to be used in vicinity of bee-hive, with warning signs on approach routes.
5. Applicant to submit proposals re sewage disposal.
6. Applicant to produce evidence that he owns the site, or at least plans to purchase it before commencement of construction.
5.0 Grounds for appeal: The appeal by various third parties centres on the environmental impact of the development, the likelihood of it being the precursor to further one-off housing in the area, the vagueness of the proposed cabin's size and elevation, vagueness regarding the true extent of the bean garden, and finally the application's ambiguity about the number of bees planned.
The last issue is of particular concern for several appellants. One party called into question the wording of the original application, which proposed "a hive for the honey bee". As the appellant put it: "Barring the unlikely event that the applicant keeps a pet bee, he almost certainly envisages having more than one insect in the planned facility. If he is not being upfront on this issue, how can we trust him on bigger questions? When he refers to a single 'hive', for example, is that also poetic licence?"
Other appellants referred to the applicant's stated wish to live "in the bee-loud glade" as further evidence of his long-term plans. Apart from the issue of noise pollution, this suggested that, once established, his honey-making operation would be on a commercial scale. Such plans would also explain his reference to standing "on the roadway, or on the pavements grey", since, as a number of appellants pointed out, the site is currently devoid of infrastructure.
6.0 Observations: A local conservation group expressed concern at the general tenor of the application, viz: "I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree/ And a small cabin build there". It is suggested that, notwithstanding his apparent co-operation with the planning process, the applicant intends to commence construction unilaterally and, if necessary, apply for retention afterwards.
7.0 Responses from first party: Responding to the various objections, the applicant spoke cryptically of ambition since his teenage years to live "in imitation of Thoreau on Innisfree" - an ambition that had suddenly returned to him during a bout of homesickness in London. This explained his reference to "pavements". He declined to elaborate on the other issues raised by objectors.
8.0 Assessment: A search of the archives reveals no evidence of a prior planning application on the island, by a Mr Thoreau or anybody else. The applicant's proposal would therefore appear to set a precedent for development in a highly sensitive area. The apparent modesty of his plans must be offset against their wilful vagueness, not just on the question of bees. The inspector also notes the contrast between the applicant's precision vis-à-vis the quantity of bean-rows and his marked silence about their length. After all, nine bean rows strung across the entire island could feed a small village.
The applicant's desire to use clay and wattles in the construction of the main dwelling shows admirable, if exaggerated, sympathy to the west of Ireland setting. However, it also exposes the unrealistic nature of the development, especially combined with his stated ambition "to have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow". Peace is not the only thing that comes dropping in Ireland, as the applicant would soon remember when he moved into his mud hut.
9.0 Recommendation: The decision of the local authority to be overturned and permission refused.
Applicant to be advised that he has been in London too long.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Here's what it says:
Inspector's Report re. appeal against proposed erection of dwelling house at Innisfree, Co Sligo.
Planning Authority: Sligo County Council. Applicant: W.B. Yeats. Original decision: Permission granted.
1.0 Site Location: The site, of unspecified acreage, is on a small island in Lough Gill, a short distance south-east of Sligo town. Access is via boat, or by swimming. There are no public footpaths on the island, and no public lighting. However, the area around the lake has been the scene of considerable one-off housing, in some cases constituting ribbon development. The site is located among mature trees, with breaks in foliage affording spectacular views northwards to Ben Bulben.
2.0 Proposed Development: Permission is sought to erect a small, cabin-style dwelling (single occupancy) with adjoining bee-hive, and vegetable garden comprising nine bean rows. Main residence to be constructed of clay and wattles.
3.0 Status of site in development plan: Although the island is zoned for recreational use only, the applicant is exempt from this on the grounds of being a poet. However, the site is also in an area designated "sensitive landscape" and "visually vulnerable".
4.0 Planning Authority's Decision: Permission granted, subject to conditions, of which the following are most relevant:
1. Applicant to use bricks, rather than clay and wattles, which are not approved materials under the Planning Acts. Local stone and/or pebble-dash to be used as cladding.
2. Any member of local authority to be contacted for name of good builder.
3. Bean rows to be fenced off from public access.
4. Appropriate netting to be used in vicinity of bee-hive, with warning signs on approach routes.
5. Applicant to submit proposals re sewage disposal.
6. Applicant to produce evidence that he owns the site, or at least plans to purchase it before commencement of construction.
5.0 Grounds for appeal: The appeal by various third parties centres on the environmental impact of the development, the likelihood of it being the precursor to further one-off housing in the area, the vagueness of the proposed cabin's size and elevation, vagueness regarding the true extent of the bean garden, and finally the application's ambiguity about the number of bees planned.
The last issue is of particular concern for several appellants. One party called into question the wording of the original application, which proposed "a hive for the honey bee". As the appellant put it: "Barring the unlikely event that the applicant keeps a pet bee, he almost certainly envisages having more than one insect in the planned facility. If he is not being upfront on this issue, how can we trust him on bigger questions? When he refers to a single 'hive', for example, is that also poetic licence?"
Other appellants referred to the applicant's stated wish to live "in the bee-loud glade" as further evidence of his long-term plans. Apart from the issue of noise pollution, this suggested that, once established, his honey-making operation would be on a commercial scale. Such plans would also explain his reference to standing "on the roadway, or on the pavements grey", since, as a number of appellants pointed out, the site is currently devoid of infrastructure.
6.0 Observations: A local conservation group expressed concern at the general tenor of the application, viz: "I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree/ And a small cabin build there". It is suggested that, notwithstanding his apparent co-operation with the planning process, the applicant intends to commence construction unilaterally and, if necessary, apply for retention afterwards.
7.0 Responses from first party: Responding to the various objections, the applicant spoke cryptically of ambition since his teenage years to live "in imitation of Thoreau on Innisfree" - an ambition that had suddenly returned to him during a bout of homesickness in London. This explained his reference to "pavements". He declined to elaborate on the other issues raised by objectors.
8.0 Assessment: A search of the archives reveals no evidence of a prior planning application on the island, by a Mr Thoreau or anybody else. The applicant's proposal would therefore appear to set a precedent for development in a highly sensitive area. The apparent modesty of his plans must be offset against their wilful vagueness, not just on the question of bees. The inspector also notes the contrast between the applicant's precision vis-à-vis the quantity of bean-rows and his marked silence about their length. After all, nine bean rows strung across the entire island could feed a small village.
The applicant's desire to use clay and wattles in the construction of the main dwelling shows admirable, if exaggerated, sympathy to the west of Ireland setting. However, it also exposes the unrealistic nature of the development, especially combined with his stated ambition "to have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow". Peace is not the only thing that comes dropping in Ireland, as the applicant would soon remember when he moved into his mud hut.
9.0 Recommendation: The decision of the local authority to be overturned and permission refused.
Applicant to be advised that he has been in London too long.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 17 March 2008
Judge criticises wind farm project
A DEVELOPMENT society in Derrybrien, Co Galway, scene of a massive bogslide in 2003, has won its High Court challenge to the manner in which Galway County Council extended planning permissions for the erection of a wind farm on a mountain in the area.
In a judgment strongly critical of the council's "plethora of mistakes" in handling the planning issues, Mr Justice Declan Budd found the council breached the planning acts and applied the wrong criteria when assessing applications by Gort Windfarms Ltd (GWL) for extensions of the duration of planning permissions.
Consequently, it had acted outside its powers in granting the extensions.
He said the council had failed to apply the crucial test - whether the development had not been completed within the terms of existing permissions due to circumstances - the bogslide of October 28th, 2003 - outside the control of GWL.
GWL had failed to provide the necessary information on this issue to the council and, had it done so, the council's decision was likely to have been very different, he said. This was because there was "a substantial body of evidence" which "overwhelmingly suggested" that the peat slip and bog slide was caused by the actions and omissions of GWL, its servants or agents for whom it was responsible under the planning code, he said.
There was a strong consensus in expert reports that the operations of GWL disrupted the stability of the blanket bog on the top and side of Mount Cashlaundrumlahan in the Slieve Aughty mountains near Derrybrien, he noted.
The reports also found GWL had ignored the "eminently foreseeable" risk of destabilisation and bog slide and ensuing delay in completing the wind farm development. Galway County Council had acted on the wrong criteria and irrationally in extending the permissions for the development, he ruled.
A "plethora of mistakes" seemed to have occurred "to the point of embarrassment" in this case, including there being no managerial decisions as required by statute and no record of relevant entries in the planning register.
He added that it was "hard to credit" claims by GWL that it could not have anticipated the 2003 bogslide. This claim was contrary to a consensus in expert reports about effects of the deposit of 400 tonnes of material excavated from the wind turbines "on jelly-like blanket bog".
The leaving of material on unstable blanket bog was a "recipe for disaster" as it was a trigger for a bog flow down the mountain, through the fields and into rivers, with ensuing environmental damage.
One "could only wonder" why appropriate technical expertise was not obtained at an earlier stage by the developer and obvious safety measures and proper construction methods instituted.
The judge was giving his reserved judgment on proceedings brought last July by Derrybrien Development Society challenging the manner in which planning extensions were granted by the council in March 2005 relating to two wind farms of 23 wind turbines being developed by GWL.
The construction of the wind farm is complete and the judge yesterday adjourned the making of final orders in the case until next month, to allow the sides to consider his findings.
If he overturns the permissions, or makes declarations in accordance with his findings that the extensions of the permissions were not in accordance with the terms of the planning acts, retention permission may have to be sought.
Mary Carolan
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
In a judgment strongly critical of the council's "plethora of mistakes" in handling the planning issues, Mr Justice Declan Budd found the council breached the planning acts and applied the wrong criteria when assessing applications by Gort Windfarms Ltd (GWL) for extensions of the duration of planning permissions.
Consequently, it had acted outside its powers in granting the extensions.
He said the council had failed to apply the crucial test - whether the development had not been completed within the terms of existing permissions due to circumstances - the bogslide of October 28th, 2003 - outside the control of GWL.
GWL had failed to provide the necessary information on this issue to the council and, had it done so, the council's decision was likely to have been very different, he said. This was because there was "a substantial body of evidence" which "overwhelmingly suggested" that the peat slip and bog slide was caused by the actions and omissions of GWL, its servants or agents for whom it was responsible under the planning code, he said.
There was a strong consensus in expert reports that the operations of GWL disrupted the stability of the blanket bog on the top and side of Mount Cashlaundrumlahan in the Slieve Aughty mountains near Derrybrien, he noted.
The reports also found GWL had ignored the "eminently foreseeable" risk of destabilisation and bog slide and ensuing delay in completing the wind farm development. Galway County Council had acted on the wrong criteria and irrationally in extending the permissions for the development, he ruled.
A "plethora of mistakes" seemed to have occurred "to the point of embarrassment" in this case, including there being no managerial decisions as required by statute and no record of relevant entries in the planning register.
He added that it was "hard to credit" claims by GWL that it could not have anticipated the 2003 bogslide. This claim was contrary to a consensus in expert reports about effects of the deposit of 400 tonnes of material excavated from the wind turbines "on jelly-like blanket bog".
The leaving of material on unstable blanket bog was a "recipe for disaster" as it was a trigger for a bog flow down the mountain, through the fields and into rivers, with ensuing environmental damage.
One "could only wonder" why appropriate technical expertise was not obtained at an earlier stage by the developer and obvious safety measures and proper construction methods instituted.
The judge was giving his reserved judgment on proceedings brought last July by Derrybrien Development Society challenging the manner in which planning extensions were granted by the council in March 2005 relating to two wind farms of 23 wind turbines being developed by GWL.
The construction of the wind farm is complete and the judge yesterday adjourned the making of final orders in the case until next month, to allow the sides to consider his findings.
If he overturns the permissions, or makes declarations in accordance with his findings that the extensions of the permissions were not in accordance with the terms of the planning acts, retention permission may have to be sought.
Mary Carolan
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Saturday, 23 February 2008
Villagers to fight development plan
Residents of a tiny Donegal village on the border with Derry say they will fight proposals to build a new commuter town there.
Plans are to be lodged with Donegal County Council shortly for 500 residential units as well as a hotel and school grounds in the centre of Killea.
Belfast-based McAllister Holdings has confirmed it is preparing a master plan to develop a new "village centre" on a 47-acre site which is part of Toland's potato factory. Killea is a small village 7km southwest of Derry city on the Letterkenny road.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Plans are to be lodged with Donegal County Council shortly for 500 residential units as well as a hotel and school grounds in the centre of Killea.
Belfast-based McAllister Holdings has confirmed it is preparing a master plan to develop a new "village centre" on a 47-acre site which is part of Toland's potato factory. Killea is a small village 7km southwest of Derry city on the Letterkenny road.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 17 January 2008
Council rejects David Arnold's extra units in Sandyford
Developer David Arnold has been refused planning permission to add 38 apartments to a previously permitted development of 262 residential units in Sandyford Industrial Estate, Dublin 18 because the local infrastructure is inadequate to cope with them.
The Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Co Council planner's report refers to the "excessive scale" of Arnold's development at the former Avid Technologies site at the junction of Carmanhall Road and Blackthorn Road.
It says this, together with the "likely cumulative effects of other permitted and potential developments" in the former industrial estate, would have "a detrimental impact on the existing deficiencies in roads and public transport infrastructure due to the likely demand on travel generated by the development."
As well as 262 residential units, the development includes 2,175sq m (23,411sq ft) of retail and commercial floor space at ground floor level and a 12-storey tower.
The additional apartments would have raised the height of four apartment blocks by a storey, bringing the tower to 13 storeys.
The site is at the heart of Sandyford Industrial Estate where over the next five years it is estimated that more than 400,000sq m (4.305 million sq ft) of office, retail and residential development is expected to come on stream.
To the north is the Microsoft complex and to the north-west a 13,500sq m (145,313sq ft) office block is under construction adjoining the Forum office complex at the former McCambridge's site.
The site is 400 metres from an emerging retail core at Beacon South Quarter where over 20,000sq m (215,278sq ft) of development is proposed.
Sandyford Action Group formed several months ago to protest against the draft urban framework plan which Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has proposed to guide future development in the former industrial estate.
The action group says the draft framework plan is a "completely inadequate document" on which to base the future planning of the area and it is calling for a local area plan. Saying development in Sandyford has been "piecemeal" to date, it also recommended substantial upgrading of the access routes into Sandyford, including a redesign of the Leopardstown interchange.
The move to create a framework plan came after An Bord Pleanála raised concerns about planning developments in the industrial estate.
The board wrote to the council about the impact that so many high density developments (proposed or approved for the area) would have on the estate.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Co Council planner's report refers to the "excessive scale" of Arnold's development at the former Avid Technologies site at the junction of Carmanhall Road and Blackthorn Road.
It says this, together with the "likely cumulative effects of other permitted and potential developments" in the former industrial estate, would have "a detrimental impact on the existing deficiencies in roads and public transport infrastructure due to the likely demand on travel generated by the development."
As well as 262 residential units, the development includes 2,175sq m (23,411sq ft) of retail and commercial floor space at ground floor level and a 12-storey tower.
The additional apartments would have raised the height of four apartment blocks by a storey, bringing the tower to 13 storeys.
The site is at the heart of Sandyford Industrial Estate where over the next five years it is estimated that more than 400,000sq m (4.305 million sq ft) of office, retail and residential development is expected to come on stream.
To the north is the Microsoft complex and to the north-west a 13,500sq m (145,313sq ft) office block is under construction adjoining the Forum office complex at the former McCambridge's site.
The site is 400 metres from an emerging retail core at Beacon South Quarter where over 20,000sq m (215,278sq ft) of development is proposed.
Sandyford Action Group formed several months ago to protest against the draft urban framework plan which Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has proposed to guide future development in the former industrial estate.
The action group says the draft framework plan is a "completely inadequate document" on which to base the future planning of the area and it is calling for a local area plan. Saying development in Sandyford has been "piecemeal" to date, it also recommended substantial upgrading of the access routes into Sandyford, including a redesign of the Leopardstown interchange.
The move to create a framework plan came after An Bord Pleanála raised concerns about planning developments in the industrial estate.
The board wrote to the council about the impact that so many high density developments (proposed or approved for the area) would have on the estate.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Council rejects David Arnold's extra units in Sandyford
Developer David Arnold has been refused planning permission to add 38 apartments to a previously permitted development of 262 residential units in Sandyford Industrial Estate, Dublin 18 because the local infrastructure is inadequate to cope with them.
The Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Co Council planner's report refers to the "excessive scale" of Arnold's development at the former Avid Technologies site at the junction of Carmanhall Road and Blackthorn Road.
It says this, together with the "likely cumulative effects of other permitted and potential developments" in the former industrial estate, would have "a detrimental impact on the existing deficiencies in roads and public transport infrastructure due to the likely demand on travel generated by the development."
As well as 262 residential units, the development includes 2,175sq m (23,411sq ft) of retail and commercial floor space at ground floor level and a 12-storey tower.
The additional apartments would have raised the height of four apartment blocks by a storey, bringing the tower to 13 storeys.
The site is at the heart of Sandyford Industrial Estate where over the next five years it is estimated that more than 400,000sq m (4.305 million sq ft) of office, retail and residential development is expected to come on stream.
To the north is the Microsoft complex and to the north-west a 13,500sq m (145,313sq ft) office block is under construction adjoining the Forum office complex at the former McCambridge's site.
The site is 400 metres from an emerging retail core at Beacon South Quarter where over 20,000sq m (215,278sq ft) of development is proposed.
Sandyford Action Group formed several months ago to protest against the draft urban framework plan which Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has proposed to guide future development in the former industrial estate.
The action group says the draft framework plan is a "completely inadequate document" on which to base the future planning of the area and it is calling for a local area plan. Saying development in Sandyford has been "piecemeal" to date, it also recommended substantial upgrading of the access routes into Sandyford, including a redesign of the Leopardstown interchange.
The move to create a framework plan came after An Bord Pleanála raised concerns about planning developments in the industrial estate.
The board wrote to the council about the impact that so many high density developments (proposed or approved for the area) would have on the estate.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Co Council planner's report refers to the "excessive scale" of Arnold's development at the former Avid Technologies site at the junction of Carmanhall Road and Blackthorn Road.
It says this, together with the "likely cumulative effects of other permitted and potential developments" in the former industrial estate, would have "a detrimental impact on the existing deficiencies in roads and public transport infrastructure due to the likely demand on travel generated by the development."
As well as 262 residential units, the development includes 2,175sq m (23,411sq ft) of retail and commercial floor space at ground floor level and a 12-storey tower.
The additional apartments would have raised the height of four apartment blocks by a storey, bringing the tower to 13 storeys.
The site is at the heart of Sandyford Industrial Estate where over the next five years it is estimated that more than 400,000sq m (4.305 million sq ft) of office, retail and residential development is expected to come on stream.
To the north is the Microsoft complex and to the north-west a 13,500sq m (145,313sq ft) office block is under construction adjoining the Forum office complex at the former McCambridge's site.
The site is 400 metres from an emerging retail core at Beacon South Quarter where over 20,000sq m (215,278sq ft) of development is proposed.
Sandyford Action Group formed several months ago to protest against the draft urban framework plan which Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has proposed to guide future development in the former industrial estate.
The action group says the draft framework plan is a "completely inadequate document" on which to base the future planning of the area and it is calling for a local area plan. Saying development in Sandyford has been "piecemeal" to date, it also recommended substantial upgrading of the access routes into Sandyford, including a redesign of the Leopardstown interchange.
The move to create a framework plan came after An Bord Pleanála raised concerns about planning developments in the industrial estate.
The board wrote to the council about the impact that so many high density developments (proposed or approved for the area) would have on the estate.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 15 October 2007
'Mismatch' in green image sold to tourists and reality
There is a mismatch between the green image of Ireland being sold to tourists and the reality that greets them when they arrive, Fáilte Ireland's environmental unit manager Paddy Mathews said yesterday.
He said a survey found that 80 per cent of visitors who came here last year were drawn by the scenery, and the vast majority were satisfied by what they saw.
However, the same visitors' attitudes survey found that 60 per cent of tourists believed the streets were cleaner in their own countries. Only 39 per cent agreed that the litter bins in Irish towns were emptied regularly.
"There's a mismatch between image and reality, between some of the images which are peddled in the marketplace and what we are actually serving up when they arrive," said Mr Mathews.
He was speaking at a conference on planning and heritage organised by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.
Mr Mathews said while tourists may continue to come to Ireland in the short term even if the image and reality did not match, this could not continue in the long term. "The environmental image will track environmental quality."
He also called on tourism providers to look at their own environmental performance and reduce any negative impacts.
Mr Mathews pointed to a reluctance among some tourism providers to carry environmental rating labels because they feared that it suggested a reduction in quality, luxury and standards.
Earlier the conference heard that some people were using heritage as a weapon to stop planning developments.
Tim Carey, heritage officer with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, said he regularly received calls from people asking if there was heritage in a certain area. "When the conversation continues it becomes apparent that their only interest in heritage is that it will stop the development."
He pointed to the proposed prison site at Thornton Hall, and said there had recently been "a huge increase" in interest in the heritage of the Co Dublin area.
"Was it because they particularly cared about the heritage of the area, or was it because people wanted to find something that would stop the development of the new prison?"
Mr Carey warned that the use of heritage to stifle development "rarely advances the cause of that heritage".
While much attention had focused on the damage caused to heritage by large infrastructural developments, it was the smaller residential and commercial schemes that had a larger incremental effect, "something akin to death by a thousand cuts".
The conference heard a call from Prof Gabriel Cooney of the UCD school of archaeology for a national landscape policy.
He said archaeology and landscape was often only considered when a problem arose in a development, such as the proposed motorway through Meath.
A national policy would help to avoid such controversies by elevating the profile of landscape issues and informing decision-making.
The conference continues today.
Alison Healy
The Irish Times
He said a survey found that 80 per cent of visitors who came here last year were drawn by the scenery, and the vast majority were satisfied by what they saw.
However, the same visitors' attitudes survey found that 60 per cent of tourists believed the streets were cleaner in their own countries. Only 39 per cent agreed that the litter bins in Irish towns were emptied regularly.
"There's a mismatch between image and reality, between some of the images which are peddled in the marketplace and what we are actually serving up when they arrive," said Mr Mathews.
He was speaking at a conference on planning and heritage organised by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.
Mr Mathews said while tourists may continue to come to Ireland in the short term even if the image and reality did not match, this could not continue in the long term. "The environmental image will track environmental quality."
He also called on tourism providers to look at their own environmental performance and reduce any negative impacts.
Mr Mathews pointed to a reluctance among some tourism providers to carry environmental rating labels because they feared that it suggested a reduction in quality, luxury and standards.
Earlier the conference heard that some people were using heritage as a weapon to stop planning developments.
Tim Carey, heritage officer with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, said he regularly received calls from people asking if there was heritage in a certain area. "When the conversation continues it becomes apparent that their only interest in heritage is that it will stop the development."
He pointed to the proposed prison site at Thornton Hall, and said there had recently been "a huge increase" in interest in the heritage of the Co Dublin area.
"Was it because they particularly cared about the heritage of the area, or was it because people wanted to find something that would stop the development of the new prison?"
Mr Carey warned that the use of heritage to stifle development "rarely advances the cause of that heritage".
While much attention had focused on the damage caused to heritage by large infrastructural developments, it was the smaller residential and commercial schemes that had a larger incremental effect, "something akin to death by a thousand cuts".
The conference heard a call from Prof Gabriel Cooney of the UCD school of archaeology for a national landscape policy.
He said archaeology and landscape was often only considered when a problem arose in a development, such as the proposed motorway through Meath.
A national policy would help to avoid such controversies by elevating the profile of landscape issues and informing decision-making.
The conference continues today.
Alison Healy
The Irish Times
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)