An Bord Pleanála has given the green light to contentious plans for a 276 unit student accommodation scheme for Dún Laoghaire.
The appeals board has granted planning permission for a six storey development at Baker's Corner, Rochestown Avenue and Kill Avenue, Dún Laoghaire despite the strong recommendation of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to refuse planning permission.
The scheme - which has the formal support of the Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) - involves the demolition of the well known Bakers Corner pub and the construction of a replacement pub and two commercial units along with the 276 student accommodation units.
The scheme faced opposition from local residents, a nearby nursing home, An Taisce and local TD, Richard Boyd Barrett (People Before Profit Solidarity).
Council planners recommended refusal to An Bord Pleanála after concluding that the scheme would adversely impact on the amenities of adjacent properties due to its overall scale and massing.
However, An Bord Pleanála has found that the contravention by the scheme of the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Development Plan in relation to height was justified.
The board stated that the scheme is strategic and part of a cumulative response to a strategic issue of national importance that is the provision of housing compact urban growth.
It said that the scheme "represents the regeneration of an important site and makes a contribution to the housing stock of some 276 student bed-spaces and therefore seeks to address a fundamental objective of the housing plan".
The board inspector in the case, Rónán O’Connor concluded that the scheme "has successfully achieved a balance between a higher density development which makes more efficient use of a key urban site and one which has had sufficient regard to its context".
Mr O’Connor also concluded that the scheme "would provide an appropriate level of amenity for future residents".
President of the Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) students’ union, Eoin Hicks Smyth claimed that plans to include 'un-necessary luxuries’ such as a gym and cinema room in the scheme will only increase rental costs for students.
In response to the submissions by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) and the IADT Students’ Union concerning amenities and their impact on affordability, Mr O’Connor stated that the provision of such amenities is standard is modern student accommodation developments, and no evidence has been provided to support the argument that such amenities result in the units becoming unaffordable to potential occupiers.
The developers have stressed that the rents at the scheme are intended to be "fully affordable".
Recommending that planning permission be granted, Mr O'Connor stated that the provision of scale of the proposed development is desirable having regard to its location close to the nearest third level institutions.
"The height, bulk and massing, detailed design and layout of the scheme are acceptable. I am also satisfied that the development would not have any significant adverse impacts on the amenities of the surrounding area. The future occupiers of the scheme will also benefit from a high standard of internal amenity," Mr O'Connor said.
