Local residents are contesting Dublin City Council’s grant of permission to Ardstone for a €300 million buy-to-sell apartment scheme near Milltown in south Dublin.
An Bord Pleanála confirmed it has received four appeals against the Dublin City Council decision giving the green light to Ardstone subsidiary, Sandford Living Ltd’s 636 unit Large Scale Residential Scheme (LRD) application for Milltown Park, Sandford Road, Dublin 6.
The scheme is to be made up of 87 studios, 227 one-bed units, 296 two-bed units and 26 three-bed units across seven apartment blocks with one rising to 10 storeys.
The board will decide on the scheme following appeals lodged by the Norwood Park Residents’ Association, Gwenda McInerney, the Cherryfield Avenue Residents’ Association and the Eglinton Residents’ Association.
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In the appeal, on behalf of the Norwood Park Residents Association, David Armstrong of Armstrong Planning contends “the proposed scheme is at an unacceptable scale at this location”.
Mr Armstrong argues that the need to increase housing output in general does not take precedence over all other considerations “and does not justify the significant negative impact that this particular proposal would exert on the neighbouring community”.
The residents represented in the appeal “live in close proximity to the appeal site and stand to be significantly affected by the form and scale of the proposed development”.
Mr Armstrong contends the council “erred in granting planning permission”.
In her appeal Gwenda McInerney of Ranelagh said her primary concern in relation to the scheme is Block E and asked that this be removed from the proposal: “Its removal would not detrimentally affect the commercial use for progressing the rest of the development.”
Ms McInerney points out that Block E consists of 12 three-storey structures and provides 24 of the 636 units.
In a 192-page appeal lodged on behalf of the Cherryfield Avenue Residents’ Association by BPS Planning and Development Consultants, it contends that the scheme is fundamentally at odds with established planning parameters for the area.
The council planner’s report recommended that permission be granted after pointing out that the site “will provide for a large number of residential units in a highly sought after existing residential area, which is located in an area within close proximity to employment, public transport and a range of services and facilities”.
In 2019 Ardstone spent €65 million to buy the Jesuit Order lands at Sandford Road near Milltown.
