Glenveagh Homes to seek big changes to 650-home Dublin development

Irish Times

3 days ago

Glenveagh Homes
is weighing big changes to a 650-home
housing
development including omitting a number of housing units from the site, and a plan for a 379-unit, mixed-use development.
The developer has sought the opinion of
Fingal County Council
for a number of amendments to an existing Strategic Housing Development near
Swords
as part of the Large-scale Residential Developments (LRD) process.
The Dublin-listed home builder ran a number of 'primary amendments' to the Mooretown Strategic Housing Development (SHD), which received planning permission in 2023, and the Mooretown Phase 2A development past the local authority.
Permission was originally granted to
Gerry Gannon
's property development company for 650 homes by An Coimisiún Pleanála. It provides 10-year permission for the site near Swords in Co. Dublin, for the construction of 265 houses with the remainder being apartments and duplexes at a density of 45 units per hectare.
READ MORE
The 18.4 hectare site is also set to be used for 187 apartments, six triplex units and 192 duplex units, spread across 113 duplex 'house' units and 79 duplex 'apartment' units. On site a childcare facility, as well as five retail units and a cafe or restaurant will also be built.
The planning permission also provides for 991 car-parking spaces and 1,141 bicycle spaces.
In a trading update in January, Glenveagh Properties noted that 'the exit of the last remaining borrowers from Nama, and land bank sales by non-traditional landholders' allowed it to 'opportunistically acquire' around 9,000 units across 14 sites. The total cost of the acquisitions was €285 million.
A number of these properties were from Mr Gannon and Glenveagh took over payment to contractors working on the Gannon Homes sites where construction was under way, including the Mooretown development, The Business Post reported.
Glenveagh consulted the local authority on the omission of 196 residential units from the SHD, including 43 one-bed units, 120 two-bed units and 33 three-bed units, across eight houses and 188 apartments, and alterations to the internal road network, car parking, open space and landscaping.
It is further gauging the viability of making amendments to the Mooretown Phase 2 development, including the omission of three four-bed houses and changes to the internal road and parking network.
As part of the consultation process, it sought the council's input on a separate plan for a 379-unit, mixed-use development, according to a list of decisions published by Fingal County Council this week.
Under the old Strategic Housing Development process, developers could request planning permission directly from An Coimisiún Pleanála. With the process lapsing in 2022, developers must consult the local authority before making an application under the LRD process with the council's opinion being valid for six months.
The local council issuing the LRD Opinion is the final stage of the process before making a formal planning application under the scheme.