Scheme for 853 new homes at Oscar Traynor Road gets approval

Council-owned land to be developed by Glenveagh for homes, parks and community facilities

A crane at a residential construction site in Sandyford, south Dublin, Ireland, on Tuesday, May 11, 2021. The mass purchase of affordable houses — on the market for about 400,000 euros ($490,000) — set off a public firestorm and highlights the growing tension over the squeeze in urban housing and the role of large investors. Photographer: Paulo Nunes dos Santos/Bloomberg
Under a scheme developed with Dublin City Council, Glenveagh Living will construct 343 social housing units, 340 cost rental units and 170 affordable purchase units. Photograph: Paulo Nunes dos Santos/Bloomberg

Dublin City Council has approved planning permission for the development of 853 new homes at Oscar Traynor Road in Coolock, north Dublin.

Under a scheme developed with the council, Glenveagh Living, a subsidiary of one of the State’s largest building companies Glenveagh, will develop the new homes along with a number of parks and community facilities for the Coolock, Beaumont, Santry and Kilmore areas.

The 17-hectare site will include 343 social housing units equating with 40 per cent of the overall development; 340 cost rental units equating with a further 40 per cent of the development, and the remainder will be 170 affordable purchase units.

The scheme will include 240 houses and 613 apartments and duplex units up to six storeys tall. All homes will be A-rated for energy efficiency and will incorporate sustainable and renewable technologies.

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Public space in the development covers 3.64 hectares with parkland around the river Naniken. The scheme will provide allotments, orchards, nature trails, a skate-and-scooter park, wetlands with boardwalks and a weir/pedestrian bridge.

A two-storey neighbourhood hub building includes a ground-floor shop and cafe with space for community, arts and cultural uses. The development also provides for a two-storey creche with capacity for 154 children.

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The detailed planning proposals were put forward by McCutcheon Halley Chartered Planning Consultants. The planning application was lodged on December 21st last.

Glenveagh was selected to partner the city council on the development following a tender by the local authority.

Members of the city council had previously rejected initial proposals for an agreement with Glenveagh which would have resulted in 30 per cent social housing, 20 per cent affordable housing and 50 per cent of the homes sold privately by the developer.

The 17-hectare site at the Santry end of Oscar Traynor Road, just to the east of the entrance to the Dublin Tunnel, was bought by the council in the 1980s.

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In early 2015, the council’s housing department produced a plan for the redevelopment of vacant council land, including Oscar Traynor Road, in what was its first big housing development programme since the property crash.

Glenveagh has indicated it will be in a position to begin work at the site from the end of this year with a view to the first houses being completed by late 2024. The entire project is expected to be developed over four years.

Tim O'Brien

Tim O'Brien

Tim O'Brien is an Irish Times journalist