A 65-acre site within the Clonburris Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) in west Dublin is guiding €27.5 million.
The sale, being handled by Mark Reynolds and Nicky Conneely of Savills, could allow for the development of up to 950 residential units.
Plans for Clonburris, between Lucan and Clondalkin, envisage a new town of about 21,000 people in 8,400 homes (at least 2,700 will be social and affordable) delivered under the SDZ "fast-track" planning system.
They will be located on 280 hectares of former farmland on both sides of the Dublin-Kildare railway line and the Grand Canal just over 10km from the city centre.
Part of the Clonburris development will adjoin Adamstown – the first new town of the 21st century – where housebuilding has restarted in earnest recently to ultimately deliver about 8,000 homes.
Plans for Clonburris were approved in May 2018 by South Dublin County Council. An Bord Pleanála heard an appeal to these plans over three days at the end of January and a final decision is due shortly.
Concerns were expressed by some councillors and locals about what they claimed was a lack of detail in the SDZ in relation to schools, transport and housing.
Overturn
The board can overturn, amend or pass the SDZ planning scheme. If it is approved the council can grant permission for developments which cannot afterwards be appealed to the board. This would, in theory, allow for construction of homes to start two months after an application is made.
The agents suggest that the Clonburris SDZ is “due to be formally adopted” in 2019. Ms Conneely says the SDZ “provides specific detail” of what development the council want to achieve.
“This means that if a developer applies for planning permission for a scheme consistent with the principles of the SDZ, they must be granted permission,” she says. “This provides a significantly reduced risk of delays with the planning process. Individual applications cannot be appealed to An Bord Pleanála once they are in accordance with the overall SDZ.”
The 65-acre site for sale could accommodate between 800 and 950 residential units – at a density of 18-23 per acre – and 800sq m (8,611sq ft) of commercial space. The guide price breaks down to about €423,000 per acre or €30,000 to €32,000 per residential plot (based on an average for houses and apartments).
Affordable
Dublin city centre is about 12km away and the site is almost equidistant between the N4 and N7. A stop on the Dublin Bus route 40 is a two-minute walk from the site while Clondalkin/Fonthill train station is also a short walk away. It provides commuter train access to Dublin Pearse in about 30 minutes.
There are several established business parks nearby. Grange Castle Business Park, for example, is about 3km away and is home to Pfizer, Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Cuisine de France. Park West Business Park, Fonthill Retail Park, Liffey Valley Shopping Centre and the Citywest campus are also near at hand.
Dublin has a well-documented deficit of affordable new homes. A National Risk Assessment presented to the Taoiseach last July pointed to the housing crisis lasting for the “foreseeable future”. Although the number of new homes being built has risen significantly, it still remains well short of the level required to meet annual demand.
