Planning delays have set back Lioncor’s plans for a 208 residential unit worth more than €100 million for Terenure in Dublin by more than two years, the Dublin construction company has said.
John Maxwell, chief executive of Lioncor, welcomed An Bord Pleanála’s grant of permission for the 208 unit five block scheme rising up to six storeys on the ‘Carlisle’ site located to the north and east of the Ben Dunne Gym, at Kimmage Road West, Terenure in Dublin 6w.
On the need to increase housing delivery nationally, Mr Maxwell said: “You can’t just turn on a tap and increase delivery. In the case of ‘Carlisle’, it will have taken us six years from acquisition to completion for a zoned residential site in a south city suburb.
He said: “Planning delays added over two years to that timeline.”
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Mr Maxwell said: “We are delighted to have secured a planning grant for the 208 social and affordable units through the new large-scale Residential Development (LRD) planning system.
He said: “We look forward to delivering this much-needed housing stock to the residents of Dublin 6w in the midst of a housing crisis. We expect to commence on site later this year with the first units likely to be complete within 24 months of commencement.
The LRD application – made up of 104 one-bed units and 104 two-bed units – by 1 Terenure Land Ltd was Lioncor’s second attempt to secure planning permission for the site.
Lioncor secured planning permission for the scheme in 2022, which also contained 208 units for the same site, under An Bord Pleanála’s so-called fast-track process.
However, that permission was challenged in the High Court by way of Judicial Review by the Kimmage Dublin Residents Alliance CLG.
Asked to comment on general market conditions in the residential sector, Mr Maxwell said: “New housing development remains very subdued, the challenges around planning and planning reform are unresolved, viability challenges are more pronounced than ever with construction cost inflation and development funding being a significant issue for the industry.”
Mr Maxwell said: “I expect completions this year will be in line with or slightly below last year but we need to be delivering 50,000-60,000 units per year for the next 10 years and we are struggling to deliver 30,000 units.”
Dublin City Council granted planning permission to the new scheme in March and it came before An Bord Pleanála on third party appeals by Elizabeth O’Callaghan and Kimmage Dublin Residents Alliance.
