Plans to construct 452 build-to-rent apartments in eight apartment blocks in Cornelscourt village in south Dublin are facing opposition from both locals and council planners.
Last December, Cornel Living Ltd lodged fast-track plans with An Bord Pleanála for the eight apartment blocks including one reaching 12 storeys in height at Cornelscourt village, Old Bray Rd, Dublin 18.
The proposed development – which lies adjacent to the N11 – also includes 10 semi-detached homes and six bungalows along with a cafe/restaurant.
More than 80 objections have been lodged against the Cornel Living proposal, including submissions lodged from the Foxrock South Residents Association and the Grange Castle and Foxrock Wood Residents Association.
In addition, an evaluation of the plan by planners at Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has recommended to the appeals board that planning be refused on a number of grounds.
Strategic development
Already this year in a number of large scale strategic housing development cases, the appeals board has granted the green light to developments that were opposed by local authorities and residents by citing official Government policy on the need to ramp up housing development.
In response to the Cornel Living plan, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council states that planning should be refused due to the height of a number of the tower blocks as only blocks of six storeys are permitted in the county development plan.
Former Fine Gael TD Mary Mitchell O'Connor also opposed the proposal.
A TD when lodging her submission, Ms Mitchell O’Connor told An Bord Pleanála that the “massive” apartment blocks proposed would “bear no relationship to the adjacent homes”. Ms Mitchell O’Connor also argued that the development being built entirely for rent was a matter of concern.
“ Rentals on this scale attract transient populations and add nothing to the local community,” she said, adding that she fully supports appropriate development.
