Category Archives: Planning/ Pleanáil

Land Development Agency commits to prioritising Stapolin Square

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The Land Development Agency (LDA) which recently bought the unbuilt development land at Stapolin, much of which has had a planning permission since 2016 and which has been only partly constructed, has committed publicly to prioritising the completion and opening of the new access to Clongriffin railway station via the planned Stapolin Square.  The commitment was given in a letter to Fingal County Council, noted at today’s meeting.

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Leave granted for a Judicial Review of the permission for demolition of Deer Park Hotel.

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This morning I have been granted leave to take a Judicial Review of An Bord Pleanála’s handling of a proposal to demolish and replace the Deer Park Hotel on Howth Demesne.

Why I’m lodging this JR

The new owners want to knock down Deer Park Hotel and build a new hotel but they did not even consider renovating/reusing the existing building – and I believe they should have.  

That’s why I have applied for a Judicial Review of An Bord Pleanála’s handling of the proposal: ABP should have sought a demolition justification report to address the sustainability of knocking down the existing hotel rather than retrofitting and restoring it. 

Too much of Dublin’s building stock is destroyed and dumped in favour of new builds. Many people see this for what it is – an enormous waste of resources. Demolition can and should be justified, and ABP should have made sure it was. That’s why I’m lodging this Judicial Review.

The grounds for the application are threefold:

  • that the planning application was not accompanied by a demolition justification report addressing the sustainability of demolishing rather than retrofitting the existing hotel,
  • that the report from the landowner in response to my appeal to the Board was not circulated to me although that was recommended within the Board, and
  • that the handling of screening for environmental impact assessment did not meet EU law requirements.

My concerns are about the sustainability of demolition. I agree with the principle of a hotel at this location, and I don’t consider that the existing hotel is of architectural heritage value. But buildings of poor quality can be turned into high quality buildings with low environmental impact; see the prize-winning examples by Lacaton and Vassal linked from the details below.

Background and details:

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Chief Executive’s report on proposed Development Plan variation to require sale of apartments

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The Chief Executive has reported on the draft variation in relation to sale of apartments to the public as required by the November meeting. The report recommends against the variation. I think it fails to address the issue and I will bring the variation back to the Council at a forthcoming meeting.

NTA proposals for improved access to Clongriffin station

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The NTA is tendering for a new lift system in the temporary access tower (stairs and lift) to Clongriffin from Baldoyle, giving access to the railway station and the no. 15 bus. The tender includes a maintenance contract for between 3 and 5 years. They will also install CCTV in the access tower. They are continuing to look at options to improve the environment of the tower itself including better passive surveillance and sightlines. See NTA’s summary of progress.

I am deeply disappointed by Fingal County Council’s decision to accept a planning compliance submission from Richmond Homes, the developer responsible for replacing the temporary access with a permanent plaza on the Baldoyle side of the station which defers completion of the station to a later phase of the development, contrary to the phasing established inthe planning application on their site.

Observations on North Irish Sea Array wind farm application

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I have submitted observations to An Bord Pleanála on the proposed wind turbine array, focussing on the routing of the onshore cable. Specifically, the observations point out that alternative routes along the motorway or offshore down the coast need to be fully considered.

Availability of apartments for sale: proposed variation to Development Plan and letter to Minister O’Brien

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I am proposing an amendment to the Fingal Development Plan so that planning conditions will be imposed to require the sale of new apartments. I’ve also written to the Minister for Housing Planning and Local Government as similar provisions are in current guidelines as regards stand-alone and semi-detached houses. The text of the letter and proposed amendment:

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Apartments not for sale?

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There’s a lot of concern at the development of apartments which, like those at Santa Sabina, will only be rented and won’t be on sale. This is in spite of a clear demand to buy an apartment in their local area from residents who would like to move out of a larger house.

I have submitted the following motion to initiate the process for an amendment to the County Development Plan, which, if I’m re-elected, will be taken at our July meeting:

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Observations on Deer Park Hotel application additional information

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I have made an observation on the additional information received for application F22A/0372, subsequent to my previous observation. The main points are:

  • The proposed new road should be refused.
  • There should be an analysis of the sustainability of the proposal comparing demolition, reuse etc, as required by the new Fingal Development Plan.
  • The application should provide for pedestrian links from the hotel to Howth and neighbouring residential areas.

Abolishing car parking requirements and developing car-free neighbourhoods – Green Councillors’ submission to consultation on sustainable settlements

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The Green councillors on Fingal County Council have a made a submission to the consultation on Sustainable and Compact Settlements Guidelines run by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

Our submission focusses on car parking issues, pointing to good policies adopted in the Fingal Development Plan 2023-2029.

Two aspects of the Fingal Plan are worth copying. First we advocate that minimum parking standards should be abolished from the planning system. The Fingal Plan does this for areas near public transport (which are effectively the entire developed area of Fingal.)

This is not abolishing parking entirely, it is that the planners will no longer require developers to provide more car parking than they want to, i.e. than they think the market is looking for. Our recommendations as regards car parking are informed by the work of planners like Donald Shoup and campaigns such as the Parking Reform Network. We are very conscious that minimum parking requirements have two significant negative effects. Minimum parking requirements reduce housing affordability, and it has been found again and again that removing the parking requirements enables the building of more housing. The cost minimum parking requirements imposes on housing becomes a subsidy which builds in an incentive to car use, contrary to our climate, health and quality of life goals for transport.

Secondly, we recommend that urban areas be designed primarily for walking, cycling and public transport, and that car parking be clustered rather than spread through out residential or mixed use areas as is often the case. We point to the provision of the Fingal plan providing for car-free neighbourhoods as a good example to be followed nationally. These recommendations are informed by positive experiences in pedestrianising existing areas and by the development of new car-free neighbourhoods in cities and towns across Europe and the world.