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PLANS TO CONSTRUCT a €475 million redevelopment of DIT’s former Kevin Street Campus in Dublin have secured the green light.
This follows An Bord Pleanála granting a 10 year planning permission to Shane Whelan’s Westridge Real Estate for the development of 53,110 sq ft of office accommodation in two 11-storey blocks alongside 299 build to rent apartments across three buildings of up to 14 storeys in height.
Westridge acquired the 3.57 acre site for €140 million in August 2019 and a report lodged with the plans by EY estimates that the total output that the redevelopment will generate over 10 years is €7.67 billion.
Dublin City Council granted planning permission for the scheme last year but the decision was appealed by eight parties – the Residents of Camden Row; Kevin Street Apartment CLG; New Bride St Residents Group; Ruairi O Cuiv and Jennifer Traynor; Gerard Doyle, Bernie Devlin and others; Chevron Nolan, Essam Bishara
and Eilis Brennan.
In its decision, the appeals board has ordered the removal of one floor from the proposed five storey Block C.
The board concluded that the scheme “would not seriously injure the residential or visual amenities of the area”.
The board granted planning permission after the inspector in the case stated that the principle of the mixed use scheme is acceptable and appropriate for this brownfield city site.
Recently elected TD Ivana Bacik lodged an observation to An Bord Pleanála with party colleagues in support of the local residents’ appeals.
A Senator at the time of lodging the observation, the Labour Party deputy told the appeals board that the planned scheme “is over-scaled and over-massed”.
The observation also stated that “we remain concerned that this proposed development will have a deleterious effect on the quality of life for residents in the locality”.
The Bacik observation stated that “while we are very much in favour of increasing the housing stock in our city to alleviate our housing and homelessness crisis, we remain concerned that the proposed housing mix in this application will not contribute to the creation of sustainable communities in the area”.
The observation states that there remains multiple concerns over the scheme and “that the proposed height and design of the development will have a stark visual impact on the area”.
Former Environment Editor with The Irish Times Frank McDonald also lodged an observation in support of the objectors’ views.
McDonald told the appeals board that “the height, scale and mass of the proposed development would fundamentally change the character of the area leaving existing residents to live cheek by jowl with this imposing representation of the ‘New Dublin’.
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Hopefully common sense will prevail
@Your Man: but this is IRELAND????
@Ken Mc Carthy: They’re gonna delay it 9 months apparently. lol.
I’ll probably get roasted for this but let’s call a spade a spade……..some folk like/ enjoy the occasional joint ( splif /doobey brother…..whatever the correct phraseology is nowdays?)now & again. Like what’s the harm in that??- personal choice / responsibility. Having the guards tied up with paperwork etc for an hour or two, all for what???? Live & let live
@Ken Mc Carthy: you might get toasted for it.
That group of doctors ignoring years of science should be ashamed of themselves. Hopefully their ignorant, likely ideology-based views are ignored. Legalise, regulate & tax everything.
@Art Vandelay: “I take this pill for this, and this pill to counter the symptoms for the first pill, and another to counteract the symptoms from that pill…..” Pharmaceuticals is a lucrative business. Those doctors are paid well for their opinions by Big Pharma who know that people who opt to self-medicate with cannabis will be detrimental to their business.
@Art Vandelay: we live in a society where the government is so concerned about the harms of canabis that its totally banned . The only restriction on the amount of alcohol you can get your hands on once your 18 is how much money you’ve got In your pocket. It don’t matter if your a convicted drink driver, gbh , domestic violence even an alcoholic the government just let you get on with it. Something don’t add up
@Art Vandelay: The world of Doctor bias is massive, there’s a really good one on YouTube where Dr. Berg completely takes apart a group of vegetarian doctors trying to spin eggs as a major cause of heart attacks, all backed by Pharma nodding vigorously.
@Thesaltyurchin: no doubt there’s a supplement or tablet you can take that’ll offset not eating eggs
Legalise now. It’s not a health issue any more than having a pint is.
Them lads in Carlow Garda Station will be delighted!
Before we embark on the legalising road we should check out how things are in Portugal.
There have been reports that all is not well.
@JP:
I’ve Googled for the last 10 minutes about Cannabis usage/legalisation in Portugal not going well and couldn’t find a thing.
Could you point me to these reports, please?
@JP: 60 years fighting the war on drugs. Over a trillion dollars spent globally. What progress has been made? Are there less drugs available? Are less people taking drugs? Seems to me the war is being lost and its cost a fortune. Surely we can’t just carry on regardless. If your fighting a loosing battle at least you have to try and look for a better solution. Giving organised crime a massive revenue stream has not really been the smartest move.
@JP: have you spent time in Lisbon? I have. the majority backed and appear to still back the decriminalisation.
@peter white: yes, surrendering to drug gangs seems the way to go.
@John Mulligan: nixon declared a war on drugs not drug gangs.
I am curious can anyone tell me what Liberal legislation ffg ever created off there own back .
Why are they so backwards and awkward with it. Oh, wait, Ireland…
Everyone in the Dail who has smoked cannabis raise your hand.
Did I miss something, imagine being disappointed ahead of time in a country ran the way this island is, or did they not already botch that in that the assembly naturally invited more people with vested interests in the pharma lobby and then rush the cannabis vote
have your say