Planning permission given for Dublin 1 build-to-rent scheme

An Bord Pleanála has given the go-ahead for an 11-storey “build-to-rent” shared accommodation scheme on Foley Street in Dublin’s north inner city.

The appeals board has granted planning permission to Red Rock Foley Street Ltd for the 126-bed space co-living scheme after five of the board’s six members decided not to accept their own inspector’s recommendation to refuse planning permission.

The appeals board decision also overturns a Dublin City Council refusal in February 2021 to the original scheme which consisted of 12 storeys and a total of 162 beds.

The scheme is planned for a site on Foley Street which is a narrow road north and parallel to part of Talbot Street in Dublin near Connolly Station. The applicants told the board that the scheme would aid regeneration in that part of the city.

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The appeals board stated that it decided not to accept its inspector’s refusal recommendation as it was satisfied that the proposal would not be excessive in scale, massing or height – or result in a monolithic appearance.

The board stated that it had regard to the scheme’s city centre urban location close to a big transportation hub and employment centres, along with the revised scheme’s design response to the prevailing and emerging heights along Foley Street and Joyce’s Walk.

The appeals board said it was satisfied that the proposed development was visually acceptable and would not lead to an unacceptable degree of overshadowing.

The board also determined that the revised scheme would not injure the amenities of adjoining development or set an undesirable precedent.

The inspector in the case, Philip Davis, recommended that planning permission be refused after stating that, notwithstanding the revised plans reducing height, the design failed to have regard to the scale and form of the immediate area, and does not respond to the prevailing heights and forms of development along Foley Street or the vicinity.