CARRIGSTOWN IS ON the move – after An Bord Pleanala yesterday gave the green light to RTE to relocate its Fair City set on its Donnybrook campus.
The appeals board has given the relocation the go-ahead – in spite of opposition from a group of D4 residents living beside the RTE site.
The broadcaster is proceeding with the move the set as part of its decision to sell 8.64 acres of land for €107.5m to Cairn Homes.
The Fair City lot comprises of 11 separate sets and the planning application provides for a new home for McCoy’s pub, the Hungry Pig, the Dolphin Pod, the Community Centre, the Helping Hand charity shop and the other locations where the hit soap is shot.
Peter and Paula Ledbetter and Brian and Elizabeth McDermott – all of Nutley Road had lodged appeals.
In their opposition to the plan, the Ledbetters and McDermotts retained Colin McGill of McGill Planning.
Objecting to the plan Mr McGill hit out at what he called the ‘unacceptable impacts of the proposed development”.
Mr McGill stated that the reason for the opposition was the proximity of the set to existing homes of Nutley Road; the visual impact of the development; the noise to be generated by the plan and its hours of operation.
Mr McGill stated “The noise levels generated together with proposed hours of operation will create unacceptable impacts on existing residential amenities.”
However, the board inspector in the case, Paul Caprani who recommended that planning permission be granted stated that “the new location of the Fair City set will have negligible impact on the residential or visual amenity on the residents living to the north of the site”.
Mr Caprani stated that what is proposed is “not a large-scale redevelopment of the lands in question but merely a relocation of a small film set within the campus approximately 150 metres west of the current site”.
The residents had raised concerns about filming at night-time and the impact it would have on their residential amenity.
In response, Mr Caprani stated: “The proposed development will not give rise to any excessive noise levels and as such, will not impact on the residential amenity of the area. Nevertheless, I would recommend that the extension of filming to 10pm on two evenings a week by the subject of a temporary permission for 3 years in order to monitor the potential impacts on amenity.”
In response to the residents’ concerns over noise, Mr Caprani stated that “the noise levels associated with the activity will primarily revolve around talking and giving instructions on a film set. Given the separation distances involved and the fact that the site is located in an urban area I consider the noise levels generated by the activity would be acceptable”.
In its formal order, the appeals board gave the plan the go-ahead stating that the proposal “would not seriously injure the amenities of the area or of property in the vicinity, would not be prejudicial to public health, would generally be acceptable in terms of traffic safety and convenience and would not seriously impact on natural heritage”.
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