Disappointment at Green Light for Diswellstown Development
March 11, 2010
I was disappointed to learn that An Bord Pleanala has recently given the green light to a massive development on a site beside St. Patrick’s National School in Diswellstown.
When myself and Cllr. Peggy Hamill organised a public meeting in relation to this development last January, it was clear that there was significant local opposition to any large-scale development on this site.
Key concerns included the high-density of the proposed development and, particularly, the impact it would have on traffic congestion at the Diswellstown roundabout beside St. Patrick’s National School.
The original proposal was for 538 dwellings as well as a commercial centre and an underground car-park.
A revised proposal, submitted in August 2009 made only minor revisions, scaling back the number of dwellings to 450 as well as reducing the size of the commercial centre, from 1,292 sq m to 744 sq m, and the number of parking spaces from 909 to 848. There were also minor improvements in landscaping.
This revised proposal was given the go-ahead by An Bord Pleanala on 24th February 2010 (details below).
It remains to be seen whether the proposed changes to the ‘estate entrance arrangement with a roundabout and wider road and the introduction of shared access on minor roads’ will alleviate concerns in relation to traffic congestion.
Planning permission has been granted for literally thousands of dwellings in the local area already and it is hard to see few, if any, of these being built in the near future. Given the state of the construction sector, it may well be the case that five years will pass before any building begins on this site, meaning the planning permission would lapse.
A cynic might say that it is not entirely coincidental that extensive planning permission is being sought and granted immediately before the transfer of loans backed by land banks to NAMA.
When myself and Cllr. Peggy Hamill organised a public meeting in relation to this development last January, it was clear that there was significant local opposition to any large-scale development on this site.
Key concerns included the high-density of the proposed development and, particularly, the impact it would have on traffic congestion at the Diswellstown roundabout beside St. Patrick’s National School.
The original proposal was for 538 dwellings as well as a commercial centre and an underground car-park.
A revised proposal, submitted in August 2009 made only minor revisions, scaling back the number of dwellings to 450 as well as reducing the size of the commercial centre, from 1,292 sq m to 744 sq m, and the number of parking spaces from 909 to 848. There were also minor improvements in landscaping.
This revised proposal was given the go-ahead by An Bord Pleanala on 24th February 2010 (details below).
It remains to be seen whether the proposed changes to the ‘estate entrance arrangement with a roundabout and wider road and the introduction of shared access on minor roads’ will alleviate concerns in relation to traffic congestion.
Planning permission has been granted for literally thousands of dwellings in the local area already and it is hard to see few, if any, of these being built in the near future. Given the state of the construction sector, it may well be the case that five years will pass before any building begins on this site, meaning the planning permission would lapse.
A cynic might say that it is not entirely coincidental that extensive planning permission is being sought and granted immediately before the transfer of loans backed by land banks to NAMA.