Council recommends to rezone lands beside St Anne’s Park

Lands formerly part of St Paul’s College in Raheny and neighbouring St Anne’s Park may be rezoned to residential use after chief executive of Dublin City Council Owen Keegan recommended the move in a report.

Keegan says in his report on the draft city development plan 2022-2028 that the “institutional use” label applied the site, which is owned by Crekav Trading GP Limited, should be removed to make way for housing and recreational development.

“The lands are well serviced and located in close proximity to existing public transport connections and established social and community infrastructure,” he says.

“It is considered by the chief executive, that their development in part for some residential development, would contribute to the 15 minute city and principles of compact growth.”

The site, which was previously made up of sports pitches, has been lying idle since 2017 after Crekav purchased it from the Vincentian Order in 2015.

In 2018, Crekav, a subsidiary of Marlet, received planning permission to construct 536 homes on the site but that permission was quashed later that year after a judicial review ruled against the developer.

In February 2020, as part of the Strategic Housing Development Act, An Bord Pleanala granted permission for 657 apartments on the site as well as a gym, a creche, a cinema and other commercial spaces.

However, in June of that year the high court once again asked ABP to review the ruling which subsequently gave the green light after requesting minor changes to the proposal.

In a May 2021. Mr Justice Humphreys overturned the planning board’s decision to grant planning permission as the site’s zoning for institutional use didn’t allow for the planned residential development.

In the council’s effort to cultivate a 15 minute city, Keegan has recommended to councillors that the site be rezoned to residential use, paving the way for the scheme to get the go-ahead.

However, some councillors oppose the move, saying that there is a shortage of sports pitches in the area and they should be brought back into use.

“There is an urgent societal value to protecting green open space and sporting fields,” Independent councillor Damien O’Farrell says

“Which goes far beyond any monetary or speculative value.”

O’Farrell is part of a group of local councillors calling for the land to rezoned to Z9 classification which protects open space areas.

“A Z9 zoning is necessary to preserve, provide and improve recreational amenity and open space as well as contributing to the biodiversity and ecosystem services,” a motion tabled by the group says.

Fianna Fail councillor Deirdre Heney also supports the motion, saying that “there is a need to protect the local amenity of these playing pitches,” in order to accommodate the growing demand for sports clubs in the area.

In the report, Keegan says: “The CE notes the submissions with regard the subject site.

“It is noted however, that the subject site no longer forms part of the institutional lands associated with the adjacent school.

“The lands are now in private ownership and have not been in active use as sports pitches for some time.

“There have been a number of applications for housing development on the site.

“Having regard to the location of the site and its planning history, it is considered that a balanced approach should be taken to its future development where residential development would be appropriate on part of the site and a portion retained for Z9 use.”