Council gives green light for revised €295m apartment scheme for former RTÉ lands
Gordon Deegan
Dublin City Council has given the green light to home-builder, Cairn Homes for its revised €295 million apartment scheme for former RTÉ lands at Montrose, Donnybrook in Dublin 4.
In giving the 510 apartment scheme the go-ahead, the Council’s planner’s report states that “the proposed changes to this development have resulted in a higher quality residential amenity for future occupiers of the development”.
Previously, Cairn Homes Montrose Ltd secured planning permission from An Coimiúsin Pleanála (ACP) for 608 units at the site in July 2023, and the new proposal reduces the scheme by 98 units to 510.
The new scheme also omits all 'Build to Rent' apartments that were part of the previous 2023 scheme.
The new Large Scale Residential Development (LRD) scheme comprises 326 two-bedroom apartments, 125 one-bedroom apartments, 51 three-bedroom apartments, and eight studios, all located across eight apartment blocks.
Three of the apartment blocks will rise to 10 storeys in height.
As part of 19 conditions attached to the permission, the City Council has ordered the Cairn firm to pay €5.43m towards the provision of public infrastructure.
The grant of permission comes more than eight years after Cairn Homes agreed a €107.5m deal with RTE in June 2017 to purchase just under nine acres of land at RTE’s Donnybrook headquarters.
Two previous applications have been the focus of strong local opposition, but only one objection was lodged against the new scheme.
Brian and Orla Murphy from Stillorgan Rd, Donnybrook, D4 were the only locals objecting and told the Council that "the scale, mass and density of the proposa,l even at the marginally reduced scale in the resubmitted plans, is excessively overdevelopment".
The Murphys said, “finally we would like to say that we do appreciate that the developer wants to maximise the return on their investment, but surely a better plan could be found for this landmark site that would create a community where people can live for many years with their families.
The Murphys opposed the previous 608-unit permitted scheme by Cairn for the RTÉ site and were one of seven parties to lodge appeals with An Coimisiún Pleanála against the Dublin City Council grant of planning permission in December 2022 for the scheme.
If the Murphys do decide to appeal to ACP, it will not unduly delay the project, as ACP is meeting its statutory targets in deciding LRD cases within 16 weeks.
An Bord Pleanála granted planning permission in July 2023 for the 608 apartments, and the current permission in place was Cairn Homes’s second attempt to build on the lands where a previous planning permission granted by An Bord Pleanála was quashed by the High Court arising from an action taken by three Ailesbury Rd residents.
The 2023 permission was a split decision where permission was refused for Block no 5, a 16-storey landmark tower to contain a hotel and the new application states that the approach taken to the refused Block No 5 "will be the subject of a separate planning amendment application.
In complying with its social housing obligations, Cairn Homes has put an indicative price tag of €28.58m on 51 apartments it is planning to sell to Dublin City Council from the permitted scheme for social housing.
The indicative prices for the apartments range from €644,896 for a two-bedroom unit to the cheapest at almost €500,000 at €482,436 for a one-bedroom unit.
The final price per apartment will be agreed between Cairn Homes and the City Council after the final grant of planning permission has been issued for the revised scheme.
