An Bord Pleanála grants planning for 780 units in Dublin

Gordon Deegan

An Bord Pleanála has granted planning permission for a further 780 residential units for the north Dublin area.

In the new permissions, the appeals board granted planning permission for 348 apartments in two separate Strategic Housing Development (SHD) schemes planned for Swords.

In a third decision, the board has also given permission to Glenveagh Living Ltd for 432 dwellings, made up of 213 houses, 93 apartments and 126 duplexes, in Ballymastsone, Donabate.

Last year, Fingal County Council granted planning permission for the scheme, but it came before An Bord Pleanála after the Donabate Portrane Community Council appealed the decision.

The Glenveagh scheme was submitted under the Large Scale Residential (LRD) system, which is the successor to the SHD system where the appeals board is currently dealing with a decision backlog.

The green light for the 780 units follows An Bord Pleanála's decision to grant permission for 2,341 residential units for north Dublin earlier this week, resulting in permissions for a total of 3,121 new units.

In a separate decision, the board refused planning permission to CE Cladewell Estates Ltd for 100 units, made up of 66 apartments and 34 houses, for a site in the townland of Kinsealy, Malahide.

The board refused planning permission after finding the proposed layout and the provision of public open space was compromised by the piecemeal nature of the development.

The board said, as a result of this compromised layout, the proposed areas of public open space are of poor quality and would be of limited benefit to future occupiers of the development.

The board also refused planning permission after finding that the public realm is dominated by large areas of surface car parking.

In relation to the Swords schemes which secured planning despite local opposition, the appeals board has granted planning permission to Castlestar (Swords) Ltd for 204 apartments at Pinnock Hill and Fosterstown North.

The initial scheme comprises five blocks ranging from three to nine storeys in height and in its decision the appeals board has ordered the omission of 15 apartments, after ruling that the maximum height of the scheme to be seven storeys in height.

In the second decision, the appeals board has granted planning permission to Jacko Investments Ltd for 144 apartments on the site of The Lord Mayor’s pub, Main Street, Swords.

The initial scheme was made up of four blocks rising to six storeys and in its decision, the appeals board has ordered the omission of an intermediary floor from a six-storey scheme and the omission of two units.