Latest news with #Kimmage
Irish Times
16-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Final BusConnects corridor secures planning permission
The final BusConnects corridor has been approved by An Bord Pleanála almost two years after the application was made and more than 10 years on from the project being announced. The Kimmage to Dublin city centre route is the last of 12 corridors to receive permission under the €4 billion scheme to transform the capital's bus services. However, six routes remain the subject of judicial review proceedings. The BusConnects programme has two strands: a network redesign and the 12 bus corridors. Unlike the redesign project, which involves the reorganisation of services on existing road infrastructure, the corridors require construction to achieve segregation of bus and cycle lanes from traffic. READ MORE This, in some instances, necessitates road widening, the acquisition of property, including parts of front gardens, and the felling of trees. The route from Kimmage in southwest Dublin to the city centre, via Harold's Cross and Clanbrassil Street, is one of the shorter corridors at just 3.7km, but it has been the longest in the planning system. A complex route, it involved the design of four 'bus gates', two of which ban private traffic on a 24-hour basis, while the others are to be in force during morning and evening peak times. [ BusConnects corridor construction to begin in autumn Opens in new window ] The bus-only sections of road, which will involve diversions for private traffic, were introduced to the designs following local protests over the original scheme, which involved significant annexing of parts of front gardens and the felling of a large number of trees. The scheme, which now involves reduced property acquisition and tree removal, includes two new footbridges over the Grand Canal in Portobello and a pedestrian/cyclist boardwalk over the river Poddle in Kimmage. The route was the subject of three rounds of public consultation before the application was made by the National Transport Authority (NTA) in July 2023. More than 80 submissions were made to the board after the application was lodged, and while several were supportive, many residents objected to the traffic diversions that would be imposed through the use of bus gates. Of the 12 corridors, five now have 'full' planning permission and can no longer be challenged in the courts. These are the routes from Ballymun/Finglas, Liffey Valley, Ringsend, Tallaght/Clondalkin and Lucan. Judicial review proceedings are ongoing in relation to six schemes, these are the corridors from Clongriffin, Belfield/Blackrock, Blanchardstown, Templeogue/Rathfarnham Swords and Bray. It remains to be seen if legal action will be taken against the Kimmage scheme. Construction of the first two corridors had been due to start this autumn, but the NTA now says it expects to be in a position to move forward at an earlier stage. Work is due to start on the Ballymun/Finglas and Liffey Valley routes by the middle of the year. Each route is expected to take about two years to complete. 'Reaching this milestone on the BusConnects infrastructure programme is a very positive development,' a NTA spokesman said. 'It's good news for bus customers, good news for communities and good news for the city. It is also welcome from the cyclists point of view, with 200km of cycle tracks to be delivered across the 12 schemes.' Plans for a system of segregated, continuous bus lanes for Dublin were first announced in 2014. In 2017, the NTA published the potential routes for these core bus corridors – which it hoped to have completed by the end of 2019. The government gave the NTA sanction to seek planning approval for the routes in March 2022 and the first applications were made from mid-2022. The Liffey Valley corridor was the first route to secure planning permission in December 2023.
Irish Times
13-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Irish Times
Space and style in Kimmage: architect's three-bed home for €595,000
Address : 177 Bangor Road, Kimmage, Dublin 12 Price : €595,000 Agent : DNG View this property on There's more than meets the eye at this extended three-bedroom semidetached home in Kimmage , Dublin 12. Architect Brian Guckian, director of bg-co, saw the property's potential when he and his wife, Aoife McGuigan, bought the house as a dated two-up, two-down eight years ago. The double-height extension to the rear, hardly visible from the front of the house, can be appreciated in all its glory from the back garden. So as not to block light from the neighbours on either side, the ground-floor extension slants to the right – facing south for the sun – while the upstairs extension slants to the left, like two boxes stacked askew, one on top of the other. It's a cool feature to behold from outside, and also from inside each of the slanted rooms. The gardens of the homes on Bangor Road are substantial, so even with the generous extension there is a good-sized garden laid in lawn with a wooden-decked patio and a pergola barbecue area. Inside, the living area that occupies the ground-floor extension not only gets natural light from the south-facing glazed back doors but from a west-facing window to the side, which catches the evening sun. The room has engineered-wood flooring and a wood-burning stove fitted into an alcove in the wall. As you step towards the kitchen in the centre of the open-plan space, there is a roof light to allow in more light. The kitchen units – which Guckian had made to his specifications by a Lithuanian manufacturer – are finished in the moody shade of Farrow & Ball's Green Smoke. A large block of exposed concrete tops the central island over which hangs a copper light feature. READ MORE Back garden and view of rear extension Living space in the extension Kitchen Dining area to the front Downstairs bathroom Pocket doors slide open to the dining area to the front of the house, now more often used as a home office for the owners, where the original fireplace makes a nice feature. Back in the kitchen, unexpectedly, as well as floor-to-ceiling cabinets in the same deep green hue on the side wall of the kitchen, there is also a hidden door which leads to a utility space and back to a bathroom with a bath. There is also an exterior door here to the front yard. Upstairs, the main bedroom sits to the front with an original fireplace and plenty of space for wardrobes on each wall. The second double occupies the rear extension, which Guckian says could equally be chosen as the main bedroom. The third bedroom between the two is a good size, as is the wet room, also off the central hallway, which features a shower with a high ceiling and a roof light to the sky. Main bedroom Second bedroom Shower room Shower with roof light The property, now extending to 102sq m (1,098sq ft) with a B3 Ber, has a smooth-plaster exterior with steps leading up to the blue front door. There is plenty of space in the front yard to park two cars. The turnkey home is now on the market through DNG, seeking €595,000. It is just down the road from the local shops, restaurants and pubs, including Pickles sandwich shop, Montos cafe, Artybaker, Zero Zero Pizza and Supervalu. This is also where you can get a bus to the city centre that takes 20-30 minutes, while cycling will get you to St Stephen's Green in about 15 minutes.
