NTA denies BusConnects will have ‘negative impact’ on value of Nutley Lane properties in D4

The proposed BusConnects scheme will not have a “negative impact” on the value of residential properties on Nutley Lane in Donnybrook, south Dublin and will more than likely “contribute to an increase in property value”, the National Transport Authority (NTA) has told An Bord Pleanála.

It comes after residents expressed concern that the plans would have a “catastrophic” impact on property values in the area.

Submissions were made by residents from Nutley Lane and its surrounding area to An Bord Pleanála last year in relation to the proposed Belfield/Blackrock to city centre bus corridor under the BusConnects scheme.

Under the plans, it is proposed that a bus lane and a general traffic lane would run in each direction along Nutley Lane and a two-way cycle track on one side of the road, and would require land acquisition from RTÉ and Eir.

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In its submission to An Bord Pleanála, dated July 2022, the Nutley Residents’ Association said: “The current proposal, if implemented, is likely to have an adverse, and potentially catastrophic, impact on property values on those houses on Nutley Lane, and the area in general, and will be a serious interference with the owners’ property rights… this is clearly a foreseen adverse consequence of what is being proposed.”

In a report to An Bord Pleanála in September last year, which dealt with submissions made by the public and local businesses, the NTA noted that some had raised concern that the proposed scheme would have a negative impact on property values of homes along Nutley Lane and stated that the desirability to live there will “vastly diminish by the provision of a bus corridor”.

However, the authority said the aim of the scheme was to provide enhanced walking, cycling and bus infrastructure on the Belfield/Blackrock corridor and would improve transport services for all who live along the route, including Nutley Lane.

It added that a combination of improved connectivity as a result of the dedicated public transport infrastructure being rolled out as well as public realm improvements “will not have a negative impact on values of residential properties on Nutley Lane but are more than likely to contribute to an increase in property value along the proposed core bus corridor”.

The authority said this week its position remained as stated in the report submitted to the planning board.

In a separate submission to An Bord Pleanála, Dr Mike McKillen, former chair of the Dublin Cycling Campaign and local resident, noted that St Michael’s College is located between Ailesbury Road and Nutley Avenue but that very few students cycle to the school as “parents have decided that it isn’t safe”.

“Most [students] are driven to school in the morning commuting rush-hour,” he wrote. “Most parents don’t drive into the college grounds, but instead drop off on-street and then head up the avenue to turn their car in private entrances.

“This is not acceptable for active travel promotion around a school. BusConnects on Nutley Lane will fail if it doesn’t address this issue.”

Homes along Nutley Lane, an area in the heart of south Dublin, have in recent years sold for up to almost €2 million. Figures from the Property Price Register, which logs property sales, shows houses on Nutley Lane consistently sell for more than €1 million.

Houses sold in the past three years have fetched prices ranging from €1.1 million to €1.84 million, while apartments have sold for €320,000-€444,000, the figures show.