Glenageary high-rise plans rejected by council

THE local planning authority has recommended that “fast-track” plans for a high-rise development at the junction of Sallynoggin Road and Glenageary Avenue should be rejected.

The 147-unit scheme from Red Rock Glenageary Ltd, at the site of the former Deerhunter pub, has failed to impress Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council planners who are advising An Bord Pleanála that permission should be refused.

A CGI of what the proposed apartment block would look like

Plans for the build-to-rent development on the 0.6 hectare site, which will consist of four blocks ranging in height from five to nine storeys in height, should be refused permission because they constitute overdevelopment of the site due to the scale, height, massing and layout.

Further to this, the planners report also notes that the proposed development “will significantly compromise the residential amenity of the properties located in its immediate vicinity” by “being visually overbearing, unduly visually prominent and incongruous”.

It also raised concerns about potential future residents of the tower blocks, stating that the proposed development “would result in a substandard level of residential accommodation for future occupiers”, due to substandard floor to ceiling heights and additional concerns about the lack and quality of communal open space, drainage and waste management.

There is also strong local opposition to the plans and a petition of over 1,000 signatures, and more than 80 observations, has been lodged to An Bord Pleanala.

Pictured above are some of the members of the Stop the High-rise campaign

Nicola Coleman, a local resident from Sallynoggin who has been coordinating a campaign against the high-rise proposal, says she is not surprised at this.

“Notwithstanding the fact that so many people in our community need a real and appropriate response to the housing crisis, opposition to Red Rock’s highrise is so strong that families, friends and neighbours chipped in to make joint observations to An Bord Pleanala,” she said.

“The observations are reflective of a community that is not opposed to development, but is opposed to the excessive, overbearing nature of Red Rocks high-rise plans and that it is the ‘build-to-rent’ nature of the development that is a major cause of concern.

“The majority of people do not believe this development represents a viable solution to the housing crisis and that it does not meet the needs of the community – and that this view is expressed in almost every single observation.”

A submission from Greythorn Park Residents Association notes that they “agree with Lord Mayor Alison Gilliland’s recent comments that the over proliferation of Build To Rent developments does not provide high standard, sustainable housing”.

While a submission from Bellevue, Glenageary and Rochestown Residents Association says that “association welcomes all proposals for a suitable and sustainable development of this site”.

A family from Sallynoggin wrote in their submission that “as a family of 10, totalling five generations, having grown up and lived on Parnell Street for the past 72 years, we disapprove of developers and landlords making large profits on this development.

“Sallynoggin has and always will be a close-knit community spanning many generations.

“We welcome new families with open arms, but we do not welcome greedy developers and landlords.

“The businessmen behind this development show no interest in the livelihoods of residents, nor do they wish to inject any financial or positive influence into the neighbourhood.

“We will live in the shadow of its towering high rise as landlords gain thousands per month on rental income.”

Ms Coleman noted that “despite the planning authority’s report chiming with the concerns of local residents, everybody understands the high risk that An Bord Pleanala could give permission for the scheme.

“The investors behind these sorts of development appear focussed on the drive to maximise returns and not the provision of homes.

“And successive Ministers for Housing seem to facilitate this drive by legislating for SPPRs (Strategic Planning Policy Requirements) that supersede local democracy and create the conditions that allow An Bord Pleanala to grant permission for proposals that fly in the face of local democracy and decent standards of accommodation.

“Systemic change is required to address this issue,” she said.

Stop the Highrise Campaign says it is calling on Red Rock to withdraw its current plans and to engage with the community.