Latest news with #DúnLaoghaireRathdown
Irish Times
09-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Sandyford apartment scheme given go ahead
Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council has granted planning for a seven storey, 71 unit, apartment development in Sandyford despite concerns expressed by a local parish priest, local residents and businesses over the scheme. Westleton Ltd had sought planning permission for a nine storey 100 unit apartment scheme, and retail units, part of which is located over the western part of the existing retail/commercial units at Balally Shopping Centre, Blackthorn Drive, Sandyford, Dublin 16. The council gave permission for the scheme after ordering the removal of two floors. Records show that two council planners recommended and endorsed a refusal to the scheme but were over-ruled by the senior planner who recommended a grant of permission. READ MORE The council senior planner, Ger Ryan said that the refusal under the heading of open space could be addressed by a financial contribution of €456,750 to the council in lieu of open space. He said that the site is simply not capable of providing additional open space due to physical and legal constraints. Mr Ryan's colleagues also recommended and endorsed a refusal over the lack of childcare facilities but he said as the number of apartments granted permission fell below the 75 unit threshold for childcare facilities, that reason for refusal no longer applies. In a submission on behalf of Fr James Caffrey and the Balally Pastoral Parish Council, architect, Michael Malone contended that the high, bulky building proposed would have a domineering effect on the village centre location and nearby housing. Mr Malone stated that the design, height and proximity of the scheme that overlooks the parish complex is of concern. He said: 'The perception of being overlooked will cause some loss of amenity and some anxiety to residence and school building users.' The operators of Ollie's Bar at Balally Shopping Centre also objected. In an objection on behalf of Sandyford Inns Ltd, Miley and Miley LLP Solicitors stated that the application makes no effort to show how the application could be built without interfering with their client's rights. The objection states that none of the reasons for previous refusals have been addressed. Marston Planning Consultancy on behalf of Balally Pharmacy stated that the scheme 'will result in the material loss in vitality and the viability of this neighbourhood centre, including that of our client's own pharmacy'.
Irish Times
07-07-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
‘Heartbreak after heartbreak': Sallynoggin residents protest mouldy, damp council flat conditions
'They take their toys out to play, but they're covered in mould. They take their books out to read at night time, but they're covered in mould. They ask if they can have a play date or a sleepover, and I have to say no, because I'm terrified that another child is going to get sick. Everything has just been stripped away from the kids.' Katie Byrne lives in the Pearse maisonettes in Sallynoggin, south Dublin , with her partner and two children: a daughter aged 10 and a son aged 5. The Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council - owned flat is a two-bedroom maisonette built in the 1950s that is mouldy and damp. When the family first moved in seven years ago, the flat was newly painted and felt fresh, but it didn't take long for the black mould to appear along skirting boards and around the windows. READ MORE Katie Byrne said dealing with the damp housing had been 'heartbreak after heartbreak after heartbreak'. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw/ The Irish Times Kim Joyce and her daughter Romi (6) with tenants from Sallynoggin and surrounding areas protesting at the offices of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council about the conditions and maintenance of council homes. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw/ The Irish Times While at the start, Byrne wiped it away and bought dehumidifiers, it did not keep the mould and damp at bay.. Now, black mould covers their blinds, mattresses, clothing, shoes, bed spread and even the couch. Byrne describes the 'constant sickness' that hangs over the home 'like a jail sentence'. Her son was discharged from hospital last week after contracting a fungal infection in his eye from the mould in his room; her daughter has had several perforated eardrums because of the high moisture levels in the house; and Byrne was hospitalised with pneumonia over the winter. 'When you're a mother, you want the best for your kids, but this is constant. They're sick, they're missing school, they can't go to activities. They can't go to birthday parties. They can't have a birthday party here, they can't have their friends over here,' she says. Byrne was among residents who protested at the offices of Dún Laoghaire -Rathdown County Council on Monday over their living conditions. Residents say the council homes are dangerous and not fit for habitation. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw/The Irish Times The protest, organised by the Community Action Tenants Union (CATU), aimed to put pressure on the council to rehouse tenants and make progress with plans for redevelopment. Protesters left a letter for council representatives outlining the 'unacceptable conditions' people were living in, 'particularly extreme dampness and mould', that were 'not being addressed through the existing housing maintenance procedures'. The letter asked for all residents of the maisonette flats in Sallynoggin and Monkstown Farm to be 'rehoused as a matter of urgency' and for a 'comprehensive retrofit programme' in council houses in Sallynoggin and Oratory Court. It also asked for a meeting between senior management within the council, residents and representatives from CATU, 'within four weeks'. Meanwhile, for residents like Byrne, the impact of their living conditions continues to take a toll on their day-to-day lives. 'It's just constant heartbreak after heartbreak after heartbreak,' Byrne says.
BreakingNews.ie
27-06-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
LDA acquires Dublin 18 site with potential for over 350 homes
The Land Development Agency have acquired a site in Cherrywood, Dublin 18, with the potential for more than 350 homes. The 4.73-hectare site is located at Lehaunstown Lane, next to a roughly 12-hectare site purchased by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in 2024. Advertisement The combined sites have capacity for more than 700 homes along with associated amenities and facilities. Design and planning work is to begin immediately, and subject to planning permission and required enabling infrastructure delivery, construction could begin in 2028. The site was acquired from a private seller as part of the LDA's private site acquisition initiative, wherein the LDA targets the purchase of privately-owned sites with significant housing potential to add to its landbank of State-owned land and Local Authority partnership sites. The agency's acquisitions to date include land in Clongriffin and Baldoyle in North Dublin as well as the Royal Liver site on the Naas Road in Dublin 12. Advertisement Combined with the new Cherrywood site, they have the potential to deliver almost 6,500 new homes, according to the LDA. The Cherrywood area has undergone some redevelopment in recent years, with the construction of new housing and apartment schemes, retail and commercial blocks, as well as parks and amenities including Tully Park, Beckett Park and Ticknock Park. The amenities are supported by public transport and road links into Dublin city centre, as well as the Sandyford Business District, Dundrum Town Centre, University College Dublin (UCD), St. Columcille's Hospital, the Beacon Hospital, and Cherrywood Business Park. The Lehaunstown Green Luas stop is located just 150 metres from the site, the LDA added, and it is close to the M50 and Leopardstown Racecourse. Advertisement An agreement was recently announced between the LDA and Horse Racing Ireland, which will provide for the future development of around 800 homes, while facilitating further development of the racecourse and its facilities. The planned Leopardstown development is to activate the existing, but unused, Leopardstown Luas stop, the agency said. John Coleman, chief executive of the LDA, said that the acquisition of the Cherrywood site beside the land owned by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council will provide 'an ideal opportunity for two state bodies to collaborate to deliver affordable and social homes'. 'This acquisition will allow the LDA and DLR to deliver approximately 700 homes within walking distance of light rail stations, as well as significantly enhancing the local road network. We look forward to consulting with the local community and key stakeholders to design and develop a new neighbourhood,' Mr Coleman said.
Irish Times
23-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Dispute over failed €23m sale of Leopardstown site by religious order
The sale of religious order-owned land in Leopardstown , south Dublin , to a developer for €23 million has fallen through due to a dispute over the provision of a school on part of the site, the Commercial Court has heard. Developer Rimor Magna Ltd is suing the trustees of the Legionaries of Christ in Ireland, owners of the land at Rocklands, which was to be sold to Rimor with a provision that it would also construct a new faith centre and school to replace the existing Creidim Centre and St Michael's House special school. It is claimed the sale fell through after a 2022 planning application for the school, faith centre and two office buildings was rejected by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Council on the grounds that the development failed to provide for a mainstream primary and post-primary school in accordance with Department of Education requirements. The claims are denied. On Monday, Rimor's case seeking an order that the congregation be prohibited from rescinding the contract for sale was admitted to the fast-track Commercial Court. READ MORE The application was made by Marcus Dowling SC, for the defendants, who said his clients did not want a substantial damages claim hanging over them and were seeking an expeditious hearing. Niall F Buckley SC, for Rimor, said that while not opposing the application for entry to the fast-track court, his side was arguing that it was given to understand by the defendants that Department of Education support was available for the plan but it was not. Mr Justice Mark Sanfey said while there had been an argument about delay in bringing the proceedings, any culpable delay was on the part of Rimor rather than the defendants. He was satisfied it was a suitable case for entry to the commercial list. He approved agreed directions between the parties and put it back to November. In an affidavit seeking entry of the case to the Commercial Court, Fr Mariano Ballestrem, manager of the congregation's affairs in Ireland, said the trustees terminated the contract with Rimor in November 2024 over its failure to comply with a special condition that it secure an acceptable grant of planning permission. The defendants also tendered the return of the €2.3 million deposit Rimor had paid. 'Insofar as the congregation is concerned, that was or should have been the end of the matter,' he said. Fr Ballestrem said Rimor's proceedings depend on a role allegedly played by a certain individual in the planning process. This individual held himself out as an agent of the congregation and represented that he had ascertained the requirements of the department prior to the lodging of the planning application and that the department would not object to the development, he said. After rejection of the application, the individual said the department would be satisfied with just one mainstream school on the development and represented that this strategy had been approved by the congregation, Fr Ballestrem said. However, at a meeting of the congregation in October 2023, there was no such approval and it was expected the terms of the contract would be complied with, he said. Fr Ballestrem said the congregation disputes that the individual had any significant role to play in Rimor's engagement with the department or that he represented the congregation in that regard. Rimor is claiming to have spent more than €1.7 million on efforts to secure planning permission. The defendants deny the claims, including claims for damages, brought by Rimor.
BreakingNews.ie
19-06-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Annual house price growth slows slightly to 7.5%
House prices in Ireland grew at an average annual rate of 7.5 per cent in April, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The headline rate of house price inflation was essentially unchanged from March's 7.6 per cent and down from 8 per cent in February, the CSO said on Thursday. Advertisement The annual rate of price growth in Dublin, where supply shortages are most acute, accelerated slightly from 6 per cent in March to 6.2 per cent in April. Outside Dublin, house prices were up 8.6 per cent in the 12 months to the end of April, the CSO said, essentially unchanged from March. The median or midpoint price of a home purchased over the period was €365,000, down slightly from €362,500 in the 12 months to March. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown remained the most expensive local authority area in the Republic, with the median price of a home sold standing at €670,000. The A94 Eircode in Blackrock, Co Dublin, was the most expensive postcode with a median price of €750,000.
