Plans by Glenveagh Homes, one of the country's largest housebuilders, for a large extension to a €75 million residential development at Donabate in north Dublin, have been rejected by An Bord Pleanála.
The appeals board’s inspector recommended that the 174 apartments should get the green light on the southern edge of Donabate located 300m from the local railway station in the Dublin coastal town.
However, the recommendation was overruled by the board. The apartments were to replace 35 houses and 62 apartments already permitted for the site.
In its ruling, the board stated that the proposed development of 174 apartments, due to its its blanket approach to height, campus-style building layout and dominance of car-parking, did not represent a satisfactory urban design response for the site.
It found that the proposal would be contrary to ministerial guidelines, would not be consistent with national and local policy, and would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.
Glenveagh now has a choice of going back to the drawing board and revising its plan, or to press ahead with the planning permission already in place for the site.
‘Lost opportunity’
A report by the chief executive of Fingal County Council recommended that permission be refused for the 174 apartments, with the authority telling the appeals board that the development represented “a lost opportunity in terms of creating a properly integrated, design-led and vibrant addition to the housing currently under construction on site”.
The inspector in the case recommended the scheme stating that the proposal would constitute an acceptable residential density in this suburban location and would be acceptable in terms of urban design, height and quantum of development.
