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The site in west Dublin where the apartments are to be built. Google Maps

Plans for apartment blocks objected to by Leo Varadkar and Joan Burton get the go-ahead

An Bord Pleanála has backed an earlier decision by Fingal County Council.

PLANS FOR FOUR four-storey apartment blocks in Castleknock that were objected to by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and former Tánaiste Joan Burton have been given the go-ahead by An Bord Pleanála.

The proposed development at Brady’s Public House on the Old Navan Road in Dublin would see the pub demolished and replaced with 41 residential housing units.

Fingal County Council approved the plans in January of this year but a number of appeals were launched by locals and politicians, among them Varadkar and Burton.

Varadkar’s objection was co-signed by Fine Gael councillor Eithne Loftus and included complaints about the type of development planned and the possibility that it would cast shadows over nearby houses.

“To begin, four-story apartment blocks are a design model which has long fallen into disfavor,” Varadkar wrote.

Yet these type of apartments are a key feature of the Absainte Ltd scheme. It would be grossly insensitive to local feelings to permit such dated architecture to succeed.

It continues:

Another flawed feature, one deeply worrying to the community, are a host of issues surfacing from the ‘shadow analysis’. No neighbours should be subjected to serious overshadowing.

PastedImage-53032 Fingal County Council Fingal County Council

At last month’s National Ploughing Championship, Varadkar defended his intervention by saying that his constituency is one which is “blighted by bad planning”.

“It’s always the prerogative of a councillor or a TD to object developments that they may see as inappropriate,” he said according to the Irish Independent.

Burton’s objection was made on similar grounds and was co-signed by local Labour member John Walsh.

“The four storey development is visually obtrusive and would dominate the existing estantes, “ Burton wrote in her objection to An Bord Pleanála.

The visual impact would affect not only estates immediately adjacent to the site (Talbot Downs, Talbot Court and the Old Navan Road) but also the neighbouring Woodpark Estate. The proposed development severely detracts from the visual amenity of the surrounding area.

Burton’s objection also stated that the plans contained inadequate parking provisions and that it would lead to “a significant increase in traffic”.

Despite the objections, An Bord Pleanála last week approved plans for the development under a host of conditions.

Among the conditions are that some design elements of the development be amended.

Read: Calls for homes on AirBnB to be registered with local councils >

Read: Clondalkin social housing estate gets green light from council >

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    Mute George McCarthy
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    Oct 13th 2017, 10:56 PM

    I wonder if it was in a less desired area would they have objected?

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    Mute Gary
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    Oct 14th 2017, 11:14 AM

    @George McCarthy: A less desired area? You’d desire living near the likes of Blanchardstown, Mulhuddart and Corduff?

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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    Oct 13th 2017, 10:55 PM

    Varadkar and Burton have no emotional or cognitive engagement with the issue of homelessness.

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    Mute Stan
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    Oct 14th 2017, 1:27 AM

    Champagne socialists Joan Burton & Labour.
    Also need the discount supermarkets & other things for low income households that Leo and Joan objected to in that area approved now. Thought they wanted more local jobs and quality of life so what’s the problem snobby Leo and Joan?

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    Mute Chris Kirk
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    Oct 14th 2017, 10:14 AM

    @Fiona deFreyne: Varadkar and Burton’s objections has more to do with getting constituency votes than anything else. Homes which are needed wherever they can be built these days and should not be dictated by petty parish pump politics.

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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    Oct 13th 2017, 10:54 PM

    The homeless cast no shadows and are often invisible.

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    Mute Hall Monitor
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    Oct 13th 2017, 11:25 PM

    @Fiona deFreyne: stick to the anti Catholic bigotry will you Tony.

    45
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    Mute P.J. Nolan
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    Oct 13th 2017, 11:39 PM

    @Hall Monitor:
    We’ll said.
    And I’m an atheist.

    16
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    Mute Franklin Roosevelt
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    Oct 13th 2017, 11:07 PM

    A huge amount of TDs (far more as a percentage of the population than the general public) are landlords, especially in FG.

    Of course Leo was against this progress. It is against the interest of his donors, the people he truly cares about, not his constituents.

    It’d mean rents would be driven down and people might actually get a fair chance at owning their own home.

    133
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    Mute lavbeer
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    Oct 13th 2017, 11:25 PM

    @Franklin Roosevelt: head down to your local AIB and get a buy to let and see reality hit!!!

    23
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    Mute Franklin Roosevelt
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    Oct 13th 2017, 11:29 PM

    @lavbeer: yeah, that’s why I’m advocating for an increase in supply.

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    Mute lavbeer
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    Oct 13th 2017, 11:46 PM

    @Franklin Roosevelt: fair enough- agree with that – funding is another question of course. But you started with a landlord put down. Not all are bad. I am an accidental one who shortly to inform a family who are 30% below market rate it’s time to go – would you take over?

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    Mute Franklin Roosevelt
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    Oct 14th 2017, 1:43 AM

    @lavbeer: I don’t see how it was a put down? I was merely stating that FG are serving their donors, not the people who elected them. It’s more anti Denis O’Brien than anti-landlord.

    Personally, if I was you, I’d sell the house and go on a trip around the world with the wife!

    Having some passive income come in every month is nice and all… but you’re more likely to remember a holiday than incremental bumps in your income that might buy you a new car or a nice break to London.

    7
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    Mute lavbeer
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    Oct 14th 2017, 1:59 AM

    @Franklin Roosevelt: ok you mean institutional landlord? Agree with that. Little tax on big rent

    But the small landlord is being squeezed out. 50+ percent tax. I am dreading delivering the news.

    4
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    Mute Franklin Roosevelt
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    Oct 14th 2017, 2:50 AM

    @lavbeer: 50%+ tax? Can you walk me through those sums please? At what point is your *effective* tax rate over 50%?

    And yeah, institutional landlords are largely the problem. And they are the big donors to the main parties.

    Add in the fact many representatives in those parties are landlords too, so they believe their interests are aligned, when in fact, it’s to the detriment of the entire country in the long run.

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    Mute declan leonard
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    Oct 14th 2017, 7:52 AM

    @Franklin Roosevelt: 30 odd apartments won’t have any effect on rents in the area

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    Mute Vic's Burd
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    Oct 14th 2017, 9:23 AM

    @declan leonard: correct the queues outside places for rent in D15 is scary…

    Lavbeer is correct individual landlords with 1-2 properties and working PAYE jobs are worse off… 50%+ tax on rent is driving them out of the market.

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    Mute Sven Ó Ciosáin
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    Oct 13th 2017, 11:20 PM

    I wonder would they object to a similar development a mile up the road in Corduff or Mulhuddart..

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    Mute Donal O'Leary
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    Oct 13th 2017, 11:01 PM

    Wanting visual fidelity during a sever housing crisis what is wrong with this lot.

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    Mute Martin Byrne
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    Oct 14th 2017, 8:15 AM

    @Donal O’Leary: wrecking the city with terrible development isn’t the answer. I don’t think this development will be bad but I agree that planning has been terrible in the past. It’s astounding that some of the ugly eyesores around us went through any planning process

    17
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    Mute Jarlath Murphy
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    Oct 13th 2017, 11:28 PM

    Yes I can understand why they would rather have a Public House on their door step than residential property in the middle of a homeless crisis!

    Interesting that we can see how closely Labour and Fine Gael values align!

    Roll on #GE2017

    59
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    Mute Cathal Mac Einri
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    Oct 13th 2017, 11:17 PM

    The paoiple Joan. What about the paoiple!!!!!

    69
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    Mute Dave Byrne
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    Oct 13th 2017, 11:39 PM

    Burton may be a TD for D15 but she lives in D7, Btw Leo has form long before he became leader of FG for objecting .
    There was one of those doctor surgery that treated addicts up around his area and he had it removed,And shifted off elsewhere in D15.
    After all there is no junkies in Castleknock like only in the less to do areas.

    61
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    Mute declan leonard
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    Oct 14th 2017, 8:05 AM

    @Dave Byrne: Leo doesn’t live in castleknock. Funnily enough,he lives beside a rehab centre for addicts

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    Mute Martina Flynn Fitzgerald
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    Oct 13th 2017, 11:08 PM

    Fantastic!…what’s j b s objection?
    And why is she allowed an opinion?
    Did we not give her enough money for her pension?…..maybe we should all have a whip around?

    66
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    Mute declan leonard
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    Oct 14th 2017, 8:01 AM

    @Martina Flynn Fitzgerald: she’s objecting because her house is 2doors away. There was 6or7 houses built about 3years ago on the other side of her house and she objected to them as well

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    Mute Vic's Burd
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    Oct 14th 2017, 9:25 AM

    @declan leonard: wrong she moved down past Halfway House some years ago…

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    Mute Sean Higgins
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    Oct 13th 2017, 11:42 PM

    As far as I am aware we live in a Republic and any citizen has the right to object to something they don’t agree with if I’m not mistaken……….

    34
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    Mute pat seery
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    Oct 14th 2017, 1:14 AM

    @Sean Higgins: Lets hope when they next go to the polls the people will see them for what they are
    If they had not objected would the houses be near completed now

    17
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    Mute lavbeer
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    Oct 13th 2017, 11:22 PM

    Plus the local FG TD objection to Lidll in Portmarnock ignored. Not a total dictatorship at least

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    Mute Donal O'Leary
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    Oct 13th 2017, 11:39 PM

    @lavbeer:

    No way!

    What was their “reason”?

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    Mute lavbeer
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    Oct 14th 2017, 12:43 AM

    @Donal O’Leary: All TDs are local reps on the eyes of the people. Of course this is what councillors are for. So 1. TDs shouldn’t get involved and 2. Their representations were ignored.

    Correct?

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    Mute Aileen Canning
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    Oct 14th 2017, 12:45 AM

    Leo lives in the penthouse in Rosehaven in Coolmine which is four stories high.

    22
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    Mute Des Doran
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    Oct 13th 2017, 11:39 PM

    Coalition of creeps

    29
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    Mute Richard o Rourke
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    Oct 13th 2017, 11:32 PM

    Used to be my local few years back was a good spot.

    11
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    Mute Des Doran
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    Oct 13th 2017, 11:36 PM

    Was it the development or the taught of,
    Social housing,in his back yard,

    11
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    Mute declan leonard
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    Oct 14th 2017, 7:58 AM

    I laughed when I heard they objected until I seen were the development is. It is a ridiculous location for a block of apartments. The development is in the middle of a cluster of houses on a quiet dead end street. The site is large enough for 12-15 houses.which is more suitable . I’m losing a favourite place for a quiet pint as well

    14
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    Mute Aileen Canning
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    Oct 14th 2017, 2:44 PM

    It’s very close to Woods End which are apartments, the Bell pub on the other side and I’d hardly call a road that has a hotel, a bar, an outdoor terrace and two restaurants a quiet dead end street!

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    Mute Tricia Lowry
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    Oct 14th 2017, 7:53 AM

    And yet in other areas they are relaxing planning laws to build higher smaller and no car park spaces in other words ghettos

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    Mute Rosemarie Martin
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    Oct 14th 2017, 12:15 PM

    @Tricia Lowry: But that is not in ‘their area’ nothing has changed in politics. One law for them, and for the less well off.

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    Mute Cyril Butler
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    Oct 14th 2017, 6:58 AM

    And this ladies and gentlemen is why we have a huge homelessness problem, millennials that will never get on the property ladder and tourists that get shafted with Airbnb here. They object to 4 story more like 14 story apartments required alongside new laws for prosecuting those who develop poor quality units or breach health & safety. We also need regulation of land bank prices here.

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    Mute Whingy McWhingy
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    Oct 14th 2017, 12:59 AM

    Just shows that the system works. Can’t help feeling some people would have preferred they were turned down and that would give them something else to moan about about about about about moan I said.

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    Mute Chris Kirk
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    Oct 14th 2017, 10:21 AM

    @Whingy McWhingy: Probably only people living in that leafy area would have objected. As it is due to the demand for Dublin homes the developers would probably have the apartments sold long before they reached the completion stage.

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    Mute Rosemarie Martin
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    Oct 14th 2017, 12:13 PM

    Build desperately needed Social Housing ~ But not in ‘Our Area’ ah, Joan Burton, tiz a long way from Oxfamstown you’ve come with your head for figures !! as for Leo Varadkir, you are setting a precedent, for snobbery and a lack of social inclusion.

    Didn’t anyone learn anything from Ghetto ising those who qualified for Council housing ?

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    Mute niall
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    Oct 14th 2017, 7:27 AM

    Delighted!

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    Mute Johnny Merren
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    Oct 14th 2017, 10:58 AM

    Well Varadkar and Burton did make objections to the plan
    so its not their fault its it got the green light, this is what they
    will tell their local voters.

    Funny that,
    I thought there was a housing crisis presently in Dublin
    ah but maybe this does not apply to Castleknock

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    Mute Leading myself..
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    Oct 14th 2017, 3:23 PM

    So who paid the €220 for the letter? I’d expect Leo paid it personally.

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