Apartments planned for local village centre

A PLANNING application to transform office space at Raven House in Finglas Village into a residential apartment block has been submitted to Dublin City Council.

The application from Wexford based development firm, Percolt Ltd, includes plans for 32 apartments and the building of extensions to the five storey building in the heart of Finglas.

Percolt Ltd bought the village centre for an undisclosed fee in 2014, drawing a line under a decade-long saga for the area that was earmarked for a multi-million euro revamp back in 2003.

Regeneration of the village was expected to begin in early 2006 but a dispute over the value of rights to a car park put a major spanner in the works and prevented progress.

Plans for 10 buildings of 15 blocks ranging in height from one to six storeys at the former Superquinn site also never materialised and the financial crash in 2007 left the village to decay for years. 

Percolt have had some success in bringing new life to the village centre and previously submitted a proposal to bring the Finglas Primary Care Centre to Raven House.

However, the proposal was rejected leaving question marks over the future of Raven House.

If permission is granted for the latest plans, the apartments are likely to be used for social housing. Housing body, Cluid, has confirmed its interest in acquiring units in the development.

The apartments will comprise four studio, five one-bed, 14 two-bed and nine three-bed units with balconies. The application also asks for development works, connection to existing public services and use of existing on site car parking and provision of cycle spaces.

The final date for observations on the plan is February 13.