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LOCALS IN DUBLIN’s north inner city have appealed to An Bord Pleanála seeking to prevent a co-living development which secured planning permission in June.
Dublin City Council granted permission for the 116 shared living units on the corner of Mountjoy Street and St Mary’s Place in June.
Builder Brian M Durkan had applied for permission to demolish the derelict building on the site and create the co-living spaces over 3-5 storeys.
Under the plans, the majority (62%) of the co-living spaces would be between 19.5-21 square metres. A further 27% of the spaces would be 15-18 square metres while 11% would be larger ranging from 28-49 square metres.
On each floor, there would be communal lounge areas and communal kitchen catering units.
Opposition TDs and housing spokespeople have been sharply critical of co-living developments, with Sinn Féin’s Eoin Ó Broin recently telling TheJournal.ie that they’re “the last thing we need” and party leader Mary Lou McDonald describing them as a “glamourised form of tenement living”.
They were defended by then-Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy who said that such blocks offer an “exciting” choice to young workers and, while he previously said he was opposed to co-living developments, the new Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien has said a review will be conducted into co-living.
Mountjoy Street
The planning application sought for development of the 0.15 hectare site comprising 16 Mountjoy Street, which sits on the corner of that street and St Mary’s Place North.
It would demolish the existing vacant dwelling and create a co-living development for – in the original plans – 121 “shared living units”. On the ground floor, it was proposed to have a lobby area, a gym, laundry room, meeting rooms, a library, cafe lounge and communal lounge and kitchen facilities.
On each further floor, there are community lounges and two communal kitchen facilities. It is also proposed for roof terraces at third floor and fourth floor levels.
It will be accessed via three entrances with bike storage room for 121 spaces at ground floor level.
In the initial report from the Dublin City Council planning officer, there were “grave concerns over the usability and functionality of the bedroom spaces”.
The planning officer said: “In most cases, the rooms are only 3 metres wide resulting in long and narrow bedrooms with a corridor covering an extensive part of the room with little usable space.
The applicant is requested to demonstrate the usability of the bedrooms with regard to circulation vs usable space. The applicant is also requested to clarify sufficient storage can be provided within each bedroom.
The planning officer also expressed concerns about the usability and quality of the kitchen spaces, and how the accommodation would be managed.
After requesting additional information from the applicants, Dublin City Council was satisfied the issues it had had been addressed and granted permission for the development.
Opposition
The original planning application was met with opposition from a number of locals in the area.
Local Labour councillor Joe Costello voiced his support with locals in a submission to the council.
“A development of houses for families would be much more appropriate to this site,” he said, adding that he had concerns the development could become a “short-term letting hub” for Airbnb and similar platforms.
He added: “Such a co-living development would set a very unwelcome precedent for planning in the area.”
A number of parties have now appealed the matter to An Bord Pleanála.
One of them is the Blend Residents Association and one of its members Pauline Cadell told TheJournal.ie that many of the points that were raised by those objecting to the plan were not considered by Dublin City Council.
She pointed to concerns raised by Eadaoin Kelly, a principal at St Mary’s Primary School which is right next to the development. In her submission to DCC, Kelly said: “The new building with its own large windows would mean that occupants would be clearly visible to children and vice versa. There are worrying implications for privacy, child protection and safeguarding with this closeness.”
Cadell said that local residents aren’t opposed to developments on the site, but were taking issue with they referred to as a “substandard development”.
“[On the ground floor], it’s 17 people sharing one kitchen,” she said. “Even before Covid, we thought that was appalling.”
Cadell said that Covid-19 had emphasised the need to avoid such developments, and said the developers should be able to demonstrate the accommodation will adhere to all the public health requirements around social distance and hygiene now it has reached the stage of an appeal to An Bord Pleanála.
She and the other residents also raised the upcoming review of co-living by the government as further putting further doubt on such developments.
“We’ve love to see apartments or houses for people to live in, for families to live in, on that corner,” she added. “We’d welcome a quality development [...] but An Bord Pleanála have been unpredictable in their decision in recent years.”
An Bord Pleanála is due to make its decision in mid-November.
Co-living future
As indicated, Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien has said a review will be conducted into co-living.
He told the Dáil last week that – to date – not one co-living development has been built, although planning permission has been granted to a number of developments.
“That said, I am aware of applications that have come in quite recently in the co-living space,” he said.
I want to make sure, through the review, that there is no impact on or any unintended consequences for purpose-built student accommodation or other things. I have started that review and I do not intend it go on forever. My intention is to come back to the House on it in the autumn and to work in consultation with the joint Oireachtas committee on housing, whenever that is established.
In response, Labour’s Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said that while this review is in the works, developers are continuing to submit plans for approval to build such developments.
“If the review and government action are swift, we will avoid the construction of a significant number of co-living accommodation units with which we would then have to contend,” Ó Ríordáin said.
“In light of the possibility of a second wave or having to deal with Covid for several years, it would be absolutely irresponsible to suggest that anybody should live in this way. It was a bad idea before Covid because it is not an ethical housing policy. There is no dignity attached to it.”
Sinn Féin’s Ó Broin also told the Dáil that the minister had the power to “walk into the Custom House and abolish this bonkers policy right now”. He said the review would incentivise developers to “rush in applications to jack up the price of the land”.
O’Brien replied that the review will “not go on forever”, a significant amount had already been done and he expected the work to be done “by early autumn, probably in September”.
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Did anyone explain the rules of fight club to these people!
@Darren Ahern: Seems they did… hence no one’s talkin’ about it!?
@Joe Phillips: they made a Snapchat group about it sure that’s worse than talking about it!
@Darren Ahern: They are cowards, gangs attacking one or two people, not really a fight club.
@Darren Ahern: Haha! Good point
Although I don’t remember hearin’ Tyler Durden mention snapchat so, technically…
@Darren Ahern: came here for this comment. Was not disappointed
People don’t report stuff because Guards do nothing about it the majority of the time. And if they do something, the courts don’t follow through. There is no justice for victims in Ireland.
Can’t do anything if it’s not reported.
@Anthony: Can’t do anything when crimes are reported either apparently.
@Carol Oates: moral of the story: never try
@Carol Oates: “apparently”
@Carol Oates: something tells me you want to see more criminals doing porridge.
@Carol Oates: I didnt know Ireland has a 0% crime detection rate…….. why have you hidden this from us for so long… all wise and powerful one
@Carol Oates: It’s sadly true. Someone without a previous conviction would likely be given a suspended sentence for assault in this country, if it can even be proven through the courts. For victims the idea of taking on a gang like this when none of them are taken off the streets is terrifying since the chances of them or one of their comrades coming for revenge is high.
@Carol Oates: all the gardai do is issue speeding fines
@Rochelle: Exactly right.
I’m in no way condoning any of the behaviour described here but I cannot imagine what my childhood would have been like if all the fights that went on when I was young had been filmed.
Two opposing schools fighting down the park….. fights after school….
Can’t say I can think of strangers ever being randomly attacked but there was a lot of fights when I was young that I’m very glad there is no evidence of today.
@Bob Earner: I always get a chuckle out of the “kids these days”’comments from older generations. The same stuff and worse went on back the. Just there wasn’t cameras everywhere to record it or social media to share it
@Kian: It’s the weirdest form of amnesia!!
Can you imagine if every fight resulted in a criminal assault charge!? 60% of my school would have been up in front of the Childrens Panel!
@Bob Earner: There has always been fights after school. But these youths seem to be recording random vicious assaults just for the fun of it. A big difference.
@Kian: ha exactly. If there’s a gun attack : jaysus the worst I ever saw was a knife.
If there’s a knife attack : why can’t they just use their God given fists the cowards!
Use fists : what is wrong with these monsters bring back the rope
@Bob Earner: War of the Buttons is a classic Irish children’s film about two rival schools baiting lumps out if each other.
any shyte bag who randomly attacks someone should be tarred, feathered and forced into the wilderness to fend for themselves
@Eon Cocker: and blow we go live to the 1700s
@Seriously stunned: and now we go live to the 1700s.
Gardai are only getting involved and making a statement in the media because it’s in the public eye and they have to be seen to be doing something. Especially after the recent stats on young offenders getting away with a slew of crimes. They couldn’t care less about teenagers fighting, in reality.
Don’t bother reporting it to the guards they are useless. I witnessed a car being broken into at the weekend rang the guards to report it & they never came, an hour later my wife rang back & reported it again, they never came and now the car is just sitting there wrecked. The scrotes sat in it for an hour trying to get it started and then just walked away.
@Tom Sawyer: no money in responding to that.
@Pius Flynn: we get it you don’t like the Gardaí…yawn
We effectively have no police force in this country now as all their time is taken up gathering revenue for the Government by harassing hard working people going about their business.
No other European people would put up with this lunacy
@Pius Flynn: 10 people dead in 7 days on Irish roads! I think enforcing road traffic legislation is a worthwhile endeavour
Why do people insist on sh*tting on the Gardai when the article clearly states that they are pro-actively trying to sort the problem out?
@Pius Flynn: What exactly are you getting at? Hard-working people speeding; not paying tax; insurance; unsafe vehicles? And if you think that no other Europeans would put up with this, I invite you to try any of the above in France, the Uk, Spain or Germany. You might be surprised to find yourself walking home.
@David Irwin: it depends on what legislation you are talking about.
And anyway we have enough laws, we need training for young drivers, and roads that are safe to drive on.
@George Salter: In other country’s they have technology called number plate recognition, you were probably too busy shining the local superintendents shoes to hear about it.
In other country’s if the police tried to set up checkpoints like they do here, they would be driven across, and rightfully so.
If you pay your tax and insurance and you have a valid drivers license you should be able to go about your business unhindered.
The police have far too much power in this country, it’s a police state really.
@Pius Flynn: been stopped at checkpoints in Germany and Slovenia. Anymore “facts” you want to make up?
Make the statements before someone dies.
His name is Robert Paulson…
Could we not just get some undercover Gardai to join the group and go beat the bejaysus out of them?
have your say