Drumcondra SHD ‘ad hoc’ and ‘overdone’, say councillors

Dublin City Councillors have voiced their concern about the proposed 183-unit build-to-rent development on Richmond Road, Drumcondra.

The development, which is being led by British company Hollybrook, will consist of 104 one-bed units and 79 two-beds.

The apartment blocks will reach up to 10 storeys in height and the project will include a flood wall up to two metres high along the Tolka River.

An Bord Pleanala is currently deliberating on the proposal as it was filed as a Strategic Housing Development – meaning it could bypass the consideration of the local council.

Most councillors on the North Central Area committee said they opposed the development, citing concerns with the height of the scheme, the effect on traffic and the 100% build-to-rent aspect.

Executive Planner with Dublin City Council Shane Healy said he shared councillors’ concerns about the absence of three-bed units, but said they were bound by national planning guidelines, which did not allow this to be made a condition.

He also said the 10-storey height was “overdone”.

Hollybrook says that a pedestrian and cycle way will be developed as part of the scheme as well as a 126-metre long flood wall long the river to link up with the Tolka Greenway.

However, Green Party councillor Donna Cooney said the flood wall is an example of “hard engineering” and would block the view of the river.

Chairperson of the committee, councillor Patricia Roe of the Social Democrats, said the problem was that planning in Dublin was “ad hoc” with councillors only able to look at one project at a time.

The plans have been revised following concerns expressed by An Bord Pleanála about a number of issues, including the height of the buildings along the river and the fact the original plans had one cafe to account for “mix of uses.”

A special meeting of the area committee heard that the board is due to give its decision on the Richmond Road SHD on 22 April and if given the green light, it will be one of the last SHDs to be granted permission before the legislation expires.

An Bord Pleanala is currently dealing with 47 separate SHD applications comprising more than 13,300 units across the country.

The uptick in comes after the Government decided to phase out the fast-track scheme this year.

There was pre-Christmas surge by developers to file their applications where 10 proposals consisting of 2,750 units were lodged between December 20 and December 23.