Appeals board rejects €30m Bartra apartment scheme for Old Navan Road
Gordon Deegan
An Bord Pleanála has rejected plans by builders, Bartra, for its contentious plans for a €30m apartment scheme for Dublin's Old Navan Road.
It is now the second failed attempt by Bartra to secure planning permission to redevelop the site.
Bartra Property (Castleknock) Ltd was planning to construct a five storey 56 apartment scheme on the site at Brady’s Public House, Old Navan Rd, Dublin 15.
The refusal upholds a decision by Fingal Co Council to refuse planning permission after 75 objections were lodged against the proposal.
One of those to object was Castleknock resident, Barry O’Lone, who in 2023 turned down a €100,000 offer from Bartra to withdraw a High Court challenge against a 210-bedspace co-living scheme for the same site opposite his family home.
The co-living scheme did not proceed and in May of last year, Bartra Property (Castleknock) Ltd lodged plans for the apartment scheme for the site.
As part of his objection, Mr O’Lone repeated the allegation that he was previously offered €100,000 by Bartra in April 2023 to withdraw the High Court judicial review against the co-living scheme.
In its refusal to the 56 unit scheme, the appeals board concluded that having regard to its height, massing, bulk and design and its lack of a direct relationship with the public open space located immediately to the north-east of the subject site, the proposed development fails to integrate with the established character of the area.
The appeals board stated that as a result the scheme would be contrary to the Fingal County Development Plan 2023-2029, which requires that new development adds quality by integrating high quality design and ensuring good quality accessible public realms, by ensuring development contributes to a positive sense of place, local distinctiveness and character.
The appeals board also refused planning permission as the absence of adequate on-site car parking provision would result in substandard residential amenity for future occupants of the development, would be likely to lead to overspill parking in the vicinity of the subject site and would be likely to result in congestion and obstruction of road users, which would endanger public safety by reason of traffic hazard.
In the Bartra appeal lodged, Thornton O'Connor Town Planning stated that there are not many better sites in the city that have the capacity for increased height and density.
The planning consultants stated that the height, scale and massing of the proposal were very similar to the building already permitted on the site.
Director of the planning consultancy, Patricia Thornton, stated that the scheme cannot be considered to be overbearing, over-scaled, or to cause material overlooking.
Ms Thornton also argued that the scheme has been carefully crafted to the highest architectural standards and that the issue of the provision of on-street parking can be overcome by on-street parking controls.
Bartra did not respond to a request for comment.
