Plans for 4,500 homes in south Dublin under €1bn investment plan

More than half earmarked for new Clonburris fast-track development zone

Up to 4,500 homes are planned for south Dublin, more than 70 per cent of which will be social and affordable housing, under a €1 billion investment plan.

More than half of the homes - 2,600 - will be in Clonburris where a new fast-track planning scheme was approved by An Bord Pleanála just two months ago.

Approximately 280 hectares of land at Clonburris, to the east of Adamstown along the Dublin-Kildare railway line, has been designated a strategic development zone (SDZ) which will eventually accommodate more than 8,400 homes.

The board's approval of the SDZ scheme means South Dublin County Council can grant permission for developments which cannot be appealed to the board, allowing construction to start two months after an application is made.

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Almost 1,000 homes are planned for Kilcarbery in Clondalkin. This scheme resulted in protests last year over a deal with building consortium Adwood to develop 70 per cent of the council's site for private housing.

Last October councillors narrowly approved the plan, by 20 votes to 16, which would see 681 of the 975 planned Kilcarbery homes sold for private housing, with the remained to be used for social housing

The developer agreed to pay the local authority €38 million for the land, which the council said it would reinvest into other housing projects.

Another 500 homes are planned for Killinarden in Tallaght, 250 homes for Rathcoole, and a further 150 homes at Belgard Road, Tallaght.

The €1 billion needed to build the homes would come from a combination of council resources, Government funding, and from private developers, a spokesman for the council said. It was not yet possible to determine the proportion of funding from each source until the State’s affordable housing purchase scheme was fully in place, he said.

The exact number of affordable homes that would be available to buy would also be confirmed after the purchase scheme was put in place, he said.

The houses and apartments would be developed over a number of years, he said, but planning permission for the Rathcoole scheme was expected to be lodged by the end of this year.

Council chief executive Daniel McLoughlin said ensuring the development of these homes was a priority for the new council.

“This programme is critically important in that it represents the challenge that faces us during the life of this council and beyond. Notwithstanding this challenge it provides opportunities to deal with the complex issues of affordability and tenure mix while exploring different delivery models.”

Olivia Kelly

Olivia Kelly

Olivia Kelly is Dublin Editor of The Irish Times