A fresh planning application has been lodged for a new town centre in Dundrum, Dublin 14, four months after An Bord Pleanala overruled a decision by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council granting permission for the £200 million complex.
Architects Burke Kennedy Doyle have made a number of fundamental changes to ensure that the new plan meets the criteria set down by the board. Buildings are now considerably less bulky than originally and the complex is broken up into a series of buildings interlinked by pedestrian walks, open space and civic amenities. The main criticism by the board of the original plan related to the style and scale of the building which was considered to be out of character with the existing pattern of development in the area. The first plan was also considered to "involve an excessive level of separation and difference from the existing built form of the village". The board also objected to the demolition of a List 2 mill house and pond.
The revised scheme will involve the redevelopment of the southern end of the town (where the Super Crazy Prices store is currently located). The centrepiece of the scheme will be a civic square, which will be landscaped to include the 18th Century mill house and mill pond. In addition, the promoters, Castlethorn Developments, are to provide a new 12,000 sq ft civic building, which will include a 150-seat theatre and rehearsal rooms, educational and community rooms, as well as a restaurant, creche and other public facilities. It is planned to hand this facility over to a board of management composed mainly of local interest groups.
Most of the 3,000 car-parking spaces will be located underground.
The civic square will have an 11-screen multiplex cinema, which will be surrounded by cafes and restaurants. Outdoor seating and recreational areas will be set aside for community use.
Castlethorn Developments is in a position to deliver what amounts to a comprehensive suburban regeneration project because it also owns the existing shopping centre on the opposite side of town. Dundrum has been designated by the local authority as the second major town in the borough after Dun Laoghaire.
The proposed town centre will include a 350,000 sq ft shopping centre, with over 80 shops and restaurants on three levels. Crazy Prices already has a 40,000 sq ft supermarket on the site and when the new complex is completed, Tesco will occupy the anchor store. There will also be an 80,000 sq ft department store. Marks & Spencer is likely to pitch for this outlet to fulfil a long-standing ambition for a major outlet in one of south Dublin's affluent suburbs. The British multiple may also open in Stillorgan Shopping Centre if planning permission is granted for its redevelopment.
Castlethorn has consulted with local community groups before re-submitting its planning application and has undertaken to link the new development with the existing village. A planning application to redevelop and extend the existing shopping centre in Dundrum will be submitted later this year to copper-fasten this arrangement.
The proposed town centre will have a four-star, 78-bedroom hotel with a conference centre and a business park set over five levels. There will be around 150,000 sq ft of offices, business starter units and commercial showrooms. Permission is also being sought for 62 apartments and townhouses on the 21-acre site, which formed part of the Pye lands between Ballinteer Road and the Dundrum bypass.
