Residential Development: The long-running planning saga over a high profile 11.32-acre site at Galloping Green in Stillorgan, Co Dublin, appears to be moving towards a solution with the granting of planning permission for a major residential development as well as offices, a nursing home, crèche and a number of retail units.
Although there have been four planning refusals on the site, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council this week cleared the way for a high density scheme with a gross floor area of 52,711 sq m (567,375 sq ft) over a basement of 20,056 sq m (215,880 sq ft) which will accommodate 760 cars and a bicycle park.
The business consortium led by deal maker Derek Quinlan, which bought the site in 2000 for €31 million, is likely to be satisfied with the planning decision, which allows the development of 525 apartments in nine blocks of three to eight storeys high; an 86-bedroom nursing home; a five-storey office building of 4,154 sq m (44,713 sq ft), a crèche and two retail units of 113 sq m (1,216 sq ft).
The site has extensive frontage on to both the Stillorgan Road and Brewery Road, with a public park and Leopardstown Tennis Club running along a third boundary.
It is one of the best located pieces of development land in south Dublin, having been owned for more than 40 years by Royal and Sun Alliance. There is a boarded-up single and two-storey office block dating from the 1960s on the site. Office tenants in the past included ESSO and Irish Cement.
One of the conditions of the planning permission is that there should be no access for cars or trucks on to the Stillorgan Road, which has a quality bus corridor (QBC). The planners note that the office block will be located at the front of the site facing on to the Stillorgan Road.
Given the level of noise emanating from the dual carriageway, it was considered that this was an appropriate location for this use as it would provide a screen from this noise for the residential units to the rear.
One of the nine apartment blocks is to be set aside for social housing and development levies will be charged on the balance of the units.
The planners acknowledge that the overall scheme now approved "has not changed significantly" from one already refused permission.
However, the layout, juxtaposition of buildings, and the height of buildings proposed has changed dramatically. As a result, it is a superior scheme to its predecessor.
The planners said that taking into consideration the Strategic Planning Guidelines for the greater Dublin area and the Residential Densities Guidelines, it was considered that a higher density mixed use development at this location was a more appropriate and a more efficient use of land.
The introduction of both a crèche and a nursing home in particular were to be welcomed in providing much-needed facilities for this area. Although the previous unsuccessful planning application provided for student apartments, the current plan does not include such units.
Of the 525 apartments approved, 290 of them will be two-beds, 45 will be three-beds and 190 will be one-beds.
The planner, rejecting complaints that the new development would overlook adjoining properties, said that having regard to the separation distances between the proposed development and the surrounding residential estates: "I do not consider that there is any overlooking or loss of residential amenity to these properties."
The planner also dismissed the issue of whether the latest scheme constituted a material contravention of the development plan having regard to the predominant residential use proposed and the previous office use on the site.
He said there was an acceptance that the previous office use did not conform with the development plan but he argued that it was policy to facilitate continued use provided it did not seriously detract from the zoning objective.
The developers will be obliged to contribute almost €9 million towards the provision of infrastructural services, including the next phase of the Luas service.
