A controversial planning application for a £30 million student residence at Trinity College Dublin's Dartry site has been granted by Dublin Corporation after a six-month delay caused by local opposition.
The residence will include three apartment blocks ranging from three to seven storeys and will house 946 students in 180 apartments. Strict conditions have been laid down by Dublin Corporation. No construction can take place until an archaeological assessment of the site has taken place and a cash bond of £350,000 must be lodged by developers against unsatisfactory landscaping and any tree damage inflicted prior to building work.
Also, students will not be allowed to organise any social events at the residence which could cause noise in the neighbourhood and they will not be allowed to hang laundry or erect television aerials on balconies.
The Director of Buildings at TCD, Mr Tim Copper, said work would start before next spring. He said this should enable the first students to move in by October 2001, unless an appeal is lodged to An Bord Pleanala.
The chairman of the Dartry District Residents' Association, Dr Tony Connellan, indicted yesterday that residents would be lodging an appeal to An Bord Pleanala.