The agency responsible for the development of a new town at Ballymun on the outskirts of Dublin says work will go ahead on part of the scheme, after a local man withdrew his High Court application for a judicial review. This followed a decision last year by Dublin Corporation to grant planning permission for a number of projects on the Ballymun estate.
The development plan includes the demolition of seven tower blocks on the estate and replacing them with houses and low-level apartments for the 20,000 people who are living there. The development agency, Ballymun Regeneration, a subsidiary of Dublin Corporation, says today's withdrawal means construction can begin on ten of the 13 housing projects in the £350m scheme. Managing director of the agency, Ciarán Murray, said start-up dates can be arranged with contractors for underground cabling, drainage and a road network, with the first phase starting as soon as possible.
An Bord Pleanna is considering appeals against three other sections of the development plan. The board will be asking the agency for environment impact studies in connection with two of these appeals. An assessment has already been done on the other phase and Bord Pleanna will make a decision on it over the next two or three months. This evening the Friends of the Irish Environment said the Board’s call for an assessment justifies concerns by residents about the 12-year development project. However Ballymun Housing Task Force welcomed the outcome of the High Court hearing and said it means local people can look forward to a better quality of live for themselves and future generations.
