Dublin City Council has refused planning permission for a controversial mixed-use development at the former Fodhla printing company site at Brookfield Road in Kilmainham, Dublin 8 on the grounds it would constitute "a substandard form of residential development".
The developer, David Patton & Sons, was looking to build 24 apartments and duplexes in two blocks, one of which rises to six storeys, and a three-storey, four-bed detached house with a roof terrace. The proposal was also for a retail unit and 908sq m (9,774sq ft) of office and medical suite accommodation.
Dublin City Council received 12 letters of objections, mostly from local individuals and residents groups as well as a petition with 46 names.
Among the main concerns was the height and scale of the development would be out of character with houses in the surrounding area of Brookfield Road, Cameron Square and Kilmainham Road.
One local said the proposed three-storey detached house would tower over the single storey 18th century cottage he painstakingly rebuilt 10 years ago on Brookfield Road and its roof terrace would invade his privacy.
Mary Upton TD said the report of a pre-planning consultation meeting between planners and the developer were not on file at the local authority offices, which she said is a breach of the Planning and Development Act 2000.
Cllr Catherine Byrne said the site was unsuitable for a retail unit because of a lack of car-parking and delivery space. Most of the objectors contended that 55 car-parking spaces were inadequate and would lead to on-street car-parking, and referred to the poor design of the development.
Dublin City Council agreed that the scheme's height, bulk and proximity to adjoining houses would "seriously impact on their residential amenity". It ruled that the development contravened the site's Z6 zoning objective "to provide for the creation and protection of enterprise and facilitate opportunities for employment creation".
It said that the development constituted a substandard form of residential development, contrary to the Dublin City Development Plan, and would set an "undesirable precedent for similar such development".
