D7 residents campaign for High Court review of Cross Guns development

Dublin 7 residents have come together to launch a GoFundMe page to support their campaign in seeking a High Court review of the approved development at the Cross Guns Bridge.

In May, An Bord Pleanala gave development firm Blindford permission to build 205 build-to-rent apartments on the banks of the Royal Canal adjacent to the Cross Guns Bridge.

The development would consist of three apartment blocks up to 12 storeys in height and would include a café, shops, and a public plaza.

The proposal was filed as a Strategic Housing Development (SHD) which meant it bypassed Dublin City Council.

The local authority recommended that An Bord Pleanala refuse permission for the project, but the board granted approval on a number of conditions.

It said that the development would not have a serious negative impact on the local residential or visual amenities and that was acceptable in terms of traffic safety, congestion, and density.

However, the board did note that the development would contravene the Dublin City Development Plan which sets a limit on block heights in the area.

The height of the tallest proposed block is just over 40 metres, while the council’s development plan sets a limit of 24 metres.

Local resident, Daniel Lambert who set up the fundraising campaign says that the development is unsuitable for several reasons.

“An Bord Pleanála’s granting of planning permission to high-density, high-rise, ‘Built to Rent’ apartments represents a travesty of good planning and development, and is a snub to democratic decision-making,” he said.

“At 50% higher than the landmark tower at Phibsborough shopping centre, the 12-storey towers adjacent to Cross Guns Bridge will dominate the local built environment.

“The proposed development is poor on many levels, including being a material contravention of Dublin City’s Development Plan, with excessively high buildings and insufficient amenity space.

“The decision to grant planning must be overturned,” he said.

Lambert says that due to the nature of the SHD process, a costly judicial review is the only avenue available to them to stop the development.

“As there is no appeals process, the granting of permission can only be overturned by a community-funded Judicial Review.

This Gofundme has been organised on behalf of the Leinster Street and Shandon Residents’ Associations who are asking the local and wider community to contribute to the page.

“As a community, they must raise €17,000 by July 14 for the first phase of the Judicial Review,” he says.

At the time of writing, the campaign had raised €13,775.

“We are asking you take a stand for what’s best for your locality.

“We seek developments that enhance our area for the benefit of all, not destroy it for the sole enrichment of private investors

“An Bord Pleanala have conceded or lost 95% of judicial reviews taken to date. We have an excellent chance at succeeding.”

On June 24, the group, which calls itself the Cross Guns Campaign, launched its campaign via Zoom meeting.

In a statement, the group said: “A big thanks to all who attended our campaign launch meeting on Zoom this evening – there was an excellent community turnout and highly informative contributions from housing expert Lorcan Sirr and campaign solicitor Fred Logue.

“Great community interaction – even with the challenges of Zoom at times – and excellent contributions and questions from attendees.

“We are asking the residents of Phibsborough and Glasnevin to join ranks on this issue, and make a stand for sustainable, community-centred development – the opposite to what this buy-to-let monstrosity represents – which is about the enrichment of private investors, to the detriment of the locality.”