A LOCAL CAMPAIGN has been established against a proposed 15 storey residential development in Ringsend in south inner city Dublin.

The proposal has been submitted to Dublin City Council and seeks to extend permission that was previously granted for a seven storey building to one that would be almost as tall as the 16 storey Liberty Hall.

The site currently consists of a number of one and two storey buildings that would be demolished to make way for the tower containing 48 apartments.

The plans say the new building will be a “high quality” development that will also include “a communal winter garden and landscaped green roof”.

The building would contain one, two and three-bedroomed apartments but the developers are seeking an exemption from social housing requirements.

Under Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000, 10% of land zoned for private developments is earmarked for social and affordable housing.

Developers must adhere to this requirement if a site is over 0.1 hectares in size but the proposed development is on a 0.073 hectare site so the applicants have applied for an exemption from the requirement.

“An application for a Certificate of Exemption from social housing contributions has been lodged with Dublin City Council and a copy of the submission now accompanies this application,” according to documents submitted by the developers.

The site is located on York Road, adjacent to residential housing on one side and the East Link Toll Plaza on the other.

The application notes that the building, at 49.6 metres tall, would be in excess of the 28 metres allowed for city centre residential developments but that this “is justifiable” in the context of the need for taller buildings in some locations under the SDZ Planning Scheme.

The application says the proposed building “will have no significant adverse impacts on neighbouring properties in terms of overshadowing”.

Locals, however, feel they’ve so far been bypassed by the process and that younger generations in the area will have no chance to benefit from the new development.

Shay Connolly is active in the York Road Development Community Group and says that there have been several other developments in the area that have not had 10% set aside for social housing.

“The 10% clause in there for social housing is being built elsewhere or it’s being bought out and there’s no watchdog to follow up on it,” he tells TheJournal.ie.

All we know is that we’re not getting anything on it in regards to trying to keep our population here and guarding against gentrification. People that live here, young couples who aspire to get married, have to live outside the area or those who stay because they’re embedded in the area for sport and things like that, in those cases there are umteen examples of three generations living under the same roof.

“We’re not anti-development, what we need is to have our voices heard. We’re not for sale, when estate agents are selling homes in the area they offer the attractions of local GAA clubs, local sports clubs, we maintained all those, we developed all those.”

Sinn Féin’s Dublin Bay South TD Chris Andrews says the site area exemption to social housing requirements amounts to “a loophole” that should be closed.

He says allowing the plan to proceed as planned would set a bad precedent for the city.

“Now that the cap on heights is gone, the exemption is now being used for very tall buildings and there’s no reason why a developer couldn’t divide up a particular site into smaller parcels of land and build a number of 15 storey units in it getting around the exemption.

Andrews said the exception’s use for such tall buildings “is not in the spirit of the legislation”.

“It would drive a coach and horse through any future community engagement around a significant development.

“It would drive a coach and horse through any future community engagement around a significant development? Like why would a developer bother going through the effort of the SDZ process when they can just just go as high as they want and get exemption. It’s exasperating.”