Revised development plan for Dundrum appealed

A revised plan for the development of a new town centre in Dundrum, Co Dublin, has been appealed to An Bord Pleanala, the board said yesterday.

The proposed development by Alice Developments Ltd, part of the Castlethorn group, envisaged a 35,000 sq m residential, commercial and leisure facility on the existing Crazy Prices site and the former Pye Centre at Sandyford Road.

Planning permission for the venture was granted by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council on May 9th last. A previous application for a town centre development on the site was rejected by An Bord Pleanala earlier this year as being "monolithic".

The developers had hoped that an extensive round of negotiations with the local community would see the current application go through unopposed. However, although none of the original third-party objectors lodged objections on this occasion, two new ones were received.

A resident in the adjoining Lynwood estate complained to the board of excessive noise, air pollution, traffic and of loss of privacy, while the Dodder Anglers Club complained that plans to culvert the River Slang would have a detrimental effect on fish stocks.

A spokesman for Castlethorn said the company was keen to be "good neighbours" and had designed a scheme which reflected the new status of Dundrum as one of two principal towns in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown. He said the application included a number of civic facilities, including a 200-seat theatre, adult education rooms, creches, and a day-care centre.

A mill on the site, which is a preserved building, and its mill pond were to be conserved and the spokesman said that the developers would be prepared to hand these over to a heritage group.

An Bord Pleanala said a decision on the appeals would be made by early October.

The development has implications for the construction of the local road network, as the developers had undertaken to provide a section of the proposed Dundrum bypass which passes through the site.

The bypass is to link with the proposed Ballinteer interchange.