Massive D17 scheme appealed

A plan by Shannon Homes to build over 2,000 homes and 10,000 sq m (107,639 sq ft) of retail, commercial and community facilities at Balgriffin Park, Dublin 17 has been challenged by a local residents' association and a Labour TD who believe the development could repeat past planning mistakes in areas like Ballymun and Darndale.

In its appeal to An Bord Pleanála, Clare Hall Residents Association says it supports sustainable development but believes a housing scheme on such a vast scale requires "careful consideration". The Shannon Homes proposal is part of a wider plan to build 7,000 new housing units in the Balgriffin/Baldoyle area, which will have an eventual population of 20,000.

The development proposal includes an eight-storey tower and new town square, six reserved sites for childcare facilities, two pubs, 10 shops, a foodstore, post office, health centre surgery, community centre, pharmacy, off-licence and take away. A central east-to-west boulevard will function as a quality bus corridor from the Grange Road extension linking ultimately though Fr Collins Park to a new rail station. Fr Collins public park is to be redesigned and enhanced with improved sports and recreational facilities.

Among the concerns of Clare Hall Residents' Association is that a traffic assessment commissioned by the developer was carried out during school holidays last year giving an unrealistic impression of traffic conditions. It said an evaluation of potential traffic on the N32 from the Malahide Road to the M1 junction took no account of traffic arising from existing and future businesses and restaurants. It pointed to a number of developments under construction in the area, including the new Hilton Hotel and Tesco shopping centre.

Another ground for appeal was that ongoing construction traffic over the next 10 years could cause a loss of amenity unless property managed, and the four-storey building on the southern boundary on Clare Hall Avenue "bears no relationship" to the two-storey houses on the other side of the single carriageway. It said the social housing element was clustered, not integrated, and the high rise apartment blocks will be clearly distinguishable from other housing.

Labour TD Tommy Broughan, who submitted an appeal on behalf of residents in Clare Hall, north Coolock, Grattan, Baldoyle and Donaghmede, said he welcomed the proposal for 516 social and affordable housing units but said condition four of planning permission granted by Dublin City Council was "disappointing". This condition states that up to 1,000 residential units may be occupied before public transport infrastructure, including a new DART station at Grange North, is built. "This is a desperate prospect for my constituents given existing traffic congestion and An Bord Pleanála should insist that public transport infrastructure is in place early in the new development."

He said the fact that over 2,000 dwellings and 10,052 sq m (108,200 sq ft) of commercial and community space would be concentrated in three and four-storey blocks with a five-storey development along Main Street and six-storey development at Town Square left him "unconvinced" that the building of a high rise, high density scheme on a small area across the northern fringe will not continue the planning mistakes of other northern fringe developments in past decades, such as Ballymun and Darndale.

Mr Broughan said that the open space provision is dependent on the 35-acre Fr Collins Park, and the internal open space is tiny and private communal courtyards "pathetically small". He said there has been "little or no" liaison "between the Ballymore, Gannon and Shannon proposals or the two local authorities".

Shannon Homes bought 152 acres from Bovale Development in November 2000 for over €57 million. Shannon Homes lodged a first party appeal against several planning conditions, including that the primary school be relocated from a site south of the Town Square and its size doubled.

It said that another condition requiring additional convenience shopping "will only dilute the strength of the Town Square" and, while it accepts the new standard contributions, it does not accept there should be special levies outside of this.