Fairview apartment scheme gets approval

Dublin City Council has approved plans for a 118-unit apartment scheme for Fairview on Dublin’s north-side despite some local opposition.

The council has given the green light to Banner A Cuig Ltd for the three-block scheme, with two blocks rising to five storeys, under the new Large-scale Residential Development (LRD) planning process at a site at Fairview Strand and Esmond Avenue.

The scheme comprises 57 one-bedroom units; 55 two-bedroom units and two three-bedroom units. The plan also includes an additional four units through the reinstatement of two homes at 61 and 63 Fairview Strand.

The council granted permission after its planner’s report said that the density reflected the compact nature of the brownfield site and that the added population the scheme wouldgenerate would help the viability of local services. The report also said that the scheme was consistent with national development objectives in relation to the efficient use of scarce zoned and serviced urban lands, urban consolidation and compact cities.

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The report said that the proposed scheme would retain the compact form of the urban area and help to meet housing demand in accordance with Government policy and guidance.

One of those to object was member of Dublin City Council Cllr Deirdre Heney (FF) who argued that the bulk and scale of the proposed development was overbearing on homes of local residents living in adjacent two-storey dwellings.

In response to privacy concerns, the council said that all balconies and terraces are to be fitted with opaque glazing.

The council received 20 third-party submissions and local resident Micheál Gannon said that due to the mass, bulk and height of the scheme it would result in a feeling of overbearance and if permitted “would cause severe and irreparable damage to our residential amenities and those of adjoining properties”.

Planning documentation said that the proposal would provide a high-quality architectural development that responds and reflects the existing and permitted development in the area.

Third parties can now appeal the decision to An Bord Pleanála.