MORE THAN 1,200 new housing units are to be built at the site of the Central Mental Hosital (CMH) in Dundrum, Co Dublin. 

The Land Development Agency (LDA), which is responsible for opening up State-owned lands for housing, made the announcement today. 

A planning application is to be submitted by the middle of 2021, with construction on the 11.5 hectare site to begin in 2022, once approval is secured from An Bord Pleanála.

The HSE is due to vacate the CMH facility later this year, with patients and staff transferring to a new purpose-built facility in Portrane, Co Dublin.

“This is a truly unique and exciting opportunity to open up a historic piece of land that has been closed off and inaccessible to the wider community since the 1800s,” LDA chief executive, John Coleman said.

“We plan to transform the Dundrum and Windy Arbour area for the better with a landmark sustainable and inclusive new neighbourhood of in excess of 1,200 new homes, incorporating significant period buildings and mature landscaped grounds.

“Given the immediate proximity to quality transport nodes including Luas stations and high-frequency bus routes, sustainability principles will form a major part of the brief to the top-tier design team that we have appointed.”

The LDA said a programme of community engagement and public consultation will be set up to ensure that the development takes account of the needs and concerns of the local community.

Coleman also acknowledged the difficulty posed by the current Covid-19 crisis but said projects will be advanced through remote working. 

“[LDA] design teams are fully engaged using remote working, and we are pressing ahead with all delivery programme stages, such as feasibility, design and planning on our projects, to get as many sites as possible ‘shovel ready’ in the quickest possible timeframe,” he said. 

“The LDA is very much moving forward on its mandate which remains as important as ever.”

The design team will be headed by Irish firm Reddy Architecture & Urbanism, supported by international design consultancy Tyréns – a European firm focused on sustainable design and regeneration – and a number of Irish consultancies.