An Bord Pleanála has refused planning permission to a proposed 167-unit residential development for Carrickmines in south Dublin due to the scheme being “overly car-dependent” and having an insufficient number of three-bed homes.
As part of its strategic housing development (SHD), Grafton Issuer DAC was seeking planning permission for 98 apartments and 69 houses for the greenfield site 750 metres south of the M50 Junction 15 – Carrickmines and close to Glenamuck Road.
The scheme was made up of 21 three-bed apartments and 26 three-bed houses along with 47 two-bed apartments, 30 one-bed apartments and 43 four-bed houses.
However, appeals board inspector Irené McCormack recommended that planning permission be refused on a number of grounds including an insufficient number of three-bed homes.
As part of her 126-page report, Ms McCormack found that the applicant has not given due consideration to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council’s Housing Need Demand Assessment (HNDA) which lays down a minimum target of 40 per cent of three-bed homes in new housing schemes.
The appeals board agreed and refused planning permission after concluding that the unit mix of the scheme fails to comply with the council’s development plan.
The developer’s plans also included 237 car-parking spaces and car access to the scheme was to be provided from the Cairnbrook residential estate to the west of the site.
The appeals board also refused planning permission after stating that the proposed development “is overly car-dependent” and is “premature because of the lack of adequate, safe pedestrian facilities on Glenamuck Road”.
The appeals board also turned down the scheme after finding that in the absence of the incorporation of the recommendation of the road safety audit into the scheme, “the development would endanger public safety and traffic safety”.
The appeals board also refused planning permission after concluding that on the basis of the evidence submitted, it could not be satisfied that the proposed development will not result in adverse impacts on important wetland and grassland habitats.
The plans were first lodged in August last year. The appeals board decision comes after the council recommended a refusal on four separate grounds and local opposition.
Twenty-six third-party submissions were made and local concerns included the proposal’s impact on residential amenity including overlooking, encroachment and loss of amenity.
Local residents also pointed to the housing scheme’s high level of car dependency and raised concerns regarding the capacity of the road network to cater for the development.
