Developer gets green light to build 352 housing units in Rathnew

Wicklow County Council has given the green light for plans to construct a 352-unit residential scheme for Rathnew despite local opposition.

The council has granted permission to Keldrum Ltd for the scheme at Tinakilly, Rathnew after concluding that the proposals would not seriously injure the residential amenities of the adjoining properties or the visual amenities of the area, and would be acceptable in terms of traffic safety and convenience.

The scheme is made up of 220 houses and 132 apartments.

Underlining the scale of the residential development, Keldrum Ltd must pay €3.16 million in planning contributions towards the provision of public infrastructure as part of the conditions attached to the permission.

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The council received more than 40 objections against the scheme with the Woodside Residents Association claiming that local infrastructure was not adequate to service the proposed development.

The residents stated that “the layout and density of the proposed development is inappropriate. It is of a high density which local services cannot service adequately or appropriately.”

Cllr John Snell (Ind) told the council the over-intensification of development was “not in keeping with the village of Rathnew”.

The council has used new powers available to planning authorities to prevent a repeat of a Ryanair-style block purchase of homes, where the airline recently confirmed it purchased 25 properties in a housing estate in Swords, north Dublin.

In one of the conditions attached to the permission, the council has ordered that the first occupation of the dwellings be by individual purchasers only, or those eligible for social housing, and not by a corporate entity.

A design statement lodged with the application states that Keldrum Ltd is developing phase one of the project on the overall applicant landholding at Tinakilly, to the south of the development site.

The planning document states that Keldrum “has extensive construction experience in Wicklow and is involved in a number of schemes in the surrounding area including schemes at Mariners Point and Burkeen Hall in Wicklow town to the south of the site”.

The report states that given the site’s appropriate zoning for residential development, the subject site “was considered an ideal location by the applicant for the development of a new residential scheme”.

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