Residents of the 1960s Seapark apartment complex off Mount Prospect Avenue, Clontarf, Dublin 3 have appealed planning permission to build an additional 95 apartments which they say would substantially reduce their open space.

Sherborough Enterprises Ltd was granted permission by Dublin City Council to build five new blocks of apartments rising from three to seven storeys - two of the proposed blocks would be extensions to existing blocks.

However, residents say this will diminish the large open space they have enjoyed for decades to two smaller green areas. Seapark is made up of 134 apartments in 13 three and four-storey blocks and 16 terraced houses known as the Laurels. While most of the low density development is 1960s-built, three of the blocks and the Laurels were built in the early 1990s.

Save Seapark Committee say the quality of this smaller open space would be further undermined by "the overbearing scale of the central block, which rises some six storeys in height. The loss of space will be acutely felt by the development's existing high proportion of older and retired residents."

Another appeal by four residents of Seapark says the proposed seven-storey block has a "footprint more than double any of the existing blocks" and will lead to a loss of natural daylight. It says the proposed 142-space underground car-park would be inadequate for the number of residents.

In addition, the finish of the add-on blocks is not in keeping with existing buildings, says the appeal, and windows and balconies will overlook the existing units resulting in loss of privacy. It said that many of the residents of Seapark are retired and "some will become prisoners in their homes during construction".