Bulloch Harbour plan appeal will not go to oral hearing

Gordon Deegan

A formal request for an oral hearing into contentious plans for Bulloch Harbour in Dalkey, Co Dublin has been rejected by An Bord Pleanála.

The planned scheme is the subject of a long-running battle between the developers, Bartra, and Dalkey residents, including broadcaster Pat Kenny.

The Newstalk presenter is the most prominent opponent of the scheme and has urged Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to refuse planning permission on multiple grounds in a joint objection with his wife, Kathy.

The Kennys said the mixed-use development would change Bulloch Harbour’s “welcoming ambience utterly, forever”. In February, they welcomed the council’s “common sense approach” in refusing permission.

The Bulloch Harbour Preservation Association formally sought an oral hearing into the appeal of that decision. The board has now told the parties the appeal “can be dealt with adequately through written procedures”, turning down the request.

The association had appealed the council decision to refuse planning permission in order that the grounds of refusal be strengthened. Applicant Bartra has also appealed the refusal to An Bord Pleanála.

Separately, “in the interests of justice”, the board has asked the association and the council to respond to points made by Bartra in rebutting the proposal for increasing the grounds for refusal.

In its submission on behalf of Bartra, Doyle Kent Planning Partnership says the claim by the association that the site is not safe to be developed is not correct. They acknowledge that the estimated volumes of water at the harbour in overtopping “are significant” but can be managed by the measures proposed.

The Bartra submission also states that claims by the Bulloch preservation group that the visual impact of the development would breach national and local policy and detract from the setting of the harbour “are not well founded”.

The submission states that in the absence of the proposed development, the situation at Bulloch Harbour “will remain unmanaged, including future flows of surface water, with additional consequences for existing residents and users of the harbour”.

The scheme for the former Western Marine Building at Bulloch Harbour seeks the demolition and clearance of the existing industrial single storey warehouses and sheds. It proposes the construction of a three-storey building incorporating a cafe and one four-bedroom apartment.

The scheme also includes a single storey seafood sales outlet, four fisherman’s huts, a new public square and three three-storey detached houses.