Objections lodged against controversial Southside co-living scheme

Padraig Conlon 04 Jan 2021

CONCERNS over Covid-19 should force planners to reject proposals for a contentious co-living scheme in Dublin 4.

This is according to several residents who have lodged objections to Bartra Capitals planned €25 million co-living development on a site on Merrion Road.

Last month Bartra were given the green light to proceed with their plans despite 38 objections from residents and groups, among them MEP Ciarán Cuffe, TD Chris Andrews and businessman Kevin Toland and his wife Aisling.

Bartra had initially sought permission for 111 bed spaces in the development but Dublin City Council decided the property firm must alter the design to remove six single and six double rooms to increase the size of communal areas.

The 92-bed development will replace an Edwardian guesthouse currently on the site which will be demolished.

Now five third-party appeals have been lodged by seven individuals concerning the planned scheme with Covid-19 concerns featuring in four of the five initial objections.

Bartra have also lodged a first-party appeal concerning the decision from the Council which includes the condition requiring the developer to omit 18-bed spaces contained in 12 single and double bedrooms.

The Council included the condition after finding that the communal spaces in the scheme are inadequate to serve each of the floors.

The third-party appeals have been lodged by Valerin O’Shea, Margaret Reid, Timothy O’Donovan, Edward and Hazel O’Flynn along with Fionán and Nuala Clifford.

In the objection lodged on behalf of Margaret Reid, it argued that it is unsustainable to build a shared living scheme in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The objection contended that the proposed intensive nature of the development “would create a high-risk cluster for potential infection”.

Edward O’Flynn in his objection said that “having 111 people living in close quarters cannot be in line with any guidelines from the health authorities in terms of social distances.”

Bartra planning consultants told DCC that assuming permission it will be three years before the building is ready for occupation and “at that juncture, we are very hopeful that Covid-19 will not be a relevant factor in the day to day operation of the building”.

Consultant Occupational and Environmental Physician Dr Martin Hogan drew up a Covid-19 risk assessment on behalf of Bartra and stated that the degree of thought put into Covid-19 controls in the scheme “is excellent and exceeds anything I have seen before in a residential setting.”

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