LOCALS in Finglas have raised concerns about a planning application to build 245 apartments in three blocks up to 10 storeys high on Finglas Road.
The development is to be built on part of the former Premier Dairies site that German supermarket Aldi previously tried to build on.
However, residents in nearby Glenhill are planning to object to the proposal and are inviting locals from nearby estates and developments to a meeting in Glenhill Lodge on Wednesday (September 25) at 7pm to galvinise support.
In 2004 permission was refused for a single storey discount food store on the site and further applications in 2005 and 2007 for a store with 104 apartments and for 175 apartments without a retail outlet were also rejected.
Two previous applications before Aldi’s also failed to materialise but with site lying idle for so long and the acute housing shortage in the city planners will be under pressure to approve a development.
Residents in Glenhill, which backs onto the site, say they want to see the land to be developed but they’re worried about the density, scale and traffic implications of the current plan.
The 245 apartments will be spread across three blocks ranging in height from six to ten storeys.
There will be 123 two-beds, 73 one-beds and 49 studio apartments but only 131 car parking spaces.
“There isn’t enough parking spaces for the amount of apartments and that means cars will end up parked illegally on paths and the main road or in our estate,” said one Glenhill resident.
Residents in Prospect Hill already have issues with parking and the Tolka Valley Road frequently has cars and vans parked on double yellow lines outside the main traffic exit, meaning cars leaving the complex can’t see oncoming traffic heading towards the Finglas Road.
Locals in Glenhill also say the ten storey block will overlook their homes and the size of development will exasperate the heavy traffic that blights Finglas Road during the morning and evening rush hours.
There are also public transport concerns. The new development has four neighbouring apartment complexes including Premier Square and Prospect Hill and while there’s a bus corridor on Finglas Road, many buses are already full by the time they reach the area during the morning rush hour.
Residents in Glenhill are urging locals, including those living in neighbouring apartment complexes, to come to Wednesday’s meeting to examine the plans and submit concerns to An Bord Pleanála, which will be deciding on the application.
Ruirside Developments are making the application and plans can be viewed online at www.mervilleplaceshd.ie.
