Concerns for the fate of the Light Bellied Brent Goose has helped put paid to plans for a 580 unit apartment scheme for a site near St Anne’s Park in Raheny, Dublin.
This follows An Coimisiún Pleanála (ACP) refusing planning permission to Patrick Crean’s Marlet Group in long-running battle over plans for the site.
The decision by ACP upholds a refusal issued by Dublin City Council in October 2022 and the case was before ACP on appeal by Marlet Group subsidiary, Raheny 3 Ltd Partnership.
In the appeal, planning consultants for Marlet, Brady Shipman Martin contended that the single reason for refusal over the Light Bellied Brent Goose for the scheme on lands to the east of St Paul’s College at Sybil Hill, Raheny, Dublin 5 “does not hold up”.
RM Block
However, in its ruling, ACP has refused planning permission on three grounds and two of the reasons for refusal relate to the Light Bellied Brent Goose.
The Light Bellied Brent Goose is a winter migrant from high-Arctic Canada and most fly here between October and April.
Concerning the goose, ACP issued a refusal as the scheme would materially contravene a number of policies in the Dublin City Development Plan for the protection of European sites from a conservation point of view.
The commission also refused planning permission as the Dublin City Development Plan requires that large scale developments over 10,000 square metres must provide a minimum of 5 per cent community, arts and culture spaces as part of the development.
The commission found that the scheme does not provide for any such floor area and as a result the application materially contravenes a material objective of the Dublin City Development Plan.
A decision by ACP in the case was delayed due to the planning saga going back before the High Court after planning was refused in October 2022.
The ACP refusal is the latest twist in the long-running planning saga for the site since it was purchased by Mr Crean in 2015.
In the High Court in May 2021, Mr Justice Richard Humphreys noted that the proposed development at the site has so far clocked up four decisions by An Bord Pleanála and ten sets of legal proceedings “and counting”.
The ‘Large Scale Residential Development’ (LRD)’ scheme by Marlet subsidiary, Raheny 3 Ltd Partnership comprises seven apartment blocks from four to seven storeys in height.
The new 580 unit apartment scheme is made up of 272 one bed units, 15 two bed three-person units, 233 two bed four person units and 60 three bed units.
Planning documents lodged with the application stated that the proposal is consistent with the Government’s new Housing for All plan and will provide 580 new, high quality homes on former institutional lands “which are ideally placed to accommodate residential development lands zoned for residential development in line with the specific zoning requirement”.
The Dublin City Council refusal in 2022 followed the authority receiving more than 230 objections against the proposal.
