Judicial review into Central Mental Hospital housing development added €30m in costs and delayed project by two years

Irish Independent

5 hours ago

On Tuesday, representatives from the Land Development Agency (LDA) and the Housing Agency were before the Oireachtas Housing Committee.
In May 2023, the LDA was granted permission to develop the site in Dublin for the construction of 852 homes on the the 34-acre site.
However, the scheme was delayed because of a single objector who lodged a judicial review against An Bord Pleanála for granting permission.
In September 2024, the LDA submitted updated plans for the site, which will be renamed Dublin Central, for construction of nearly 1,000 homes on the site.
The new plans would see 940 apartments, 17 duplexes, and 20 houses, with building heights ranging from two to seven storeys.
Asked by Fianna Fáil TD, Seamus McGrath, how much the judicial review on the site has cost, John Coleman, Chief Executive of the LDA, said the delay has resulted in an €30m in additional delivery costs.
'The impact of the delay, of the challenge, has been to add at least €30m onto the estimated delivery cost of that scheme,' Mr Coleman told the committee.
Mr Coleman said that the matter was not yet concluded, and they are waiting on a final decision on the planning application.
"We're not out of the woods yet. We haven't got a positive planning decision. We don't know whether we'll get a further challenge, but that's the impact,' Mr Coleman said.
Judicial reviews are one of the key risks of development, Mr Coleman told the committee and said it has delayed homes for thousands of people in Dundrum.
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The LDA chief added that he hoped a final decision would be received in the coming months.
'In relation to judicial reviews, yes, it's a risk, and unfortunately, we have received a judicial review challenge in relation to the planning permission that we have for a large site in South Dublin, Dundrum,' Mr Coleman said.
'The issue for us is obviously not being able to get on with the development of that site. We have a revised planning application that has been lodged for nearly 1,000 homes, and we hope to get a decision on that in the very near future, within the next couple of months.
'The problem is it has delayed delivery of the homes. Those 1000 homes will accommodate approximately 2,500 people.
Meanwhile, the chief executive of the Housing Agency, Martin Whelan told the committee that there has been a 'near collapse' of inward investment in the housing market.
'We have seen a near collapse in inward investment into the Irish housing system over the last year, year and a half. That's pronounced in two areas,' Mr Whelan said.
In particular, Mr Whelan said the requirements around equity financing is a 'major challenge'.
Currently builders are required to pay 25 to 30pc of the cost of a development upfront.
This money is then held up for several years until the development is complicated or sold.
'It's a particular challenge given that there is a higher equity requirement in relation to apartment development, and the shortage of that financing is an issue,' Mr Whelan said.