Dublin 6 residents have claimed that drunken, disorderly, anti-social behaviour by student residents at Trinity College Dublin's student accommodation at Dartry, Dublin 6 will worsen if a new student accommodation scheme proceeds.
Earlier this year, TCD lodged 'fast track’ plans to An Bord Pleanála for a ‘best in class’ 358 bed student residential scheme for Trinity Hall.
Planning documentation lodged with the Strategic Housing Development (SHD) scheme states that the application will provide "an attractive, modern student accommodation built to best-practice for sustainable development".
Already, TCD provides 995 bed spaces at Trinity Hall and planning consultants for TCD, Declan Brassil & Company state that the proposed development "will assist in addressing the current undersupply of student accommodation in Dublin City and reduce pressure on the private rental market".
However, the scheme is facing local opposition due to planning considerations that include the scale of the planned scheme.
The proposal is also facing opposition due to allegations by local residents concerning student anti-social behaviour.
An objection lodged by a management company Gelderbury Ltd for Temple Square South by Hughes Planning and Development Consultants states that their clients are living with anti-social, drunken and disorderly and other unsavoury behaviour from students.
The submission states this is predicted to substantially worsen with 358 additional students at Trinity Hall.
It claims that anti-social behaviour and noise from TCD student accommodation at Dartry "is a point of strife for the residents in the area".
Another objector, Ciarán Tuite, has told An Bord Pleanála that there are around 70 dwellings closer to the proposed development than his house "but we already are disturbed by the noise generated by the existing residents of Trinity Hall".
Mr Tuite stated that "this disturbance will be magnified by a much higher rise development from which sound will travel more widely and be more pervasive".
In another submission, Niall Reddy states that since the development of student accommodation in Trinity Hall, "the residents of Temple Square and Temple Road have been subjected to serious un-social behaviour".
He stated: "Unsocial behaviour is unfortunately a side effect of housing together so many students. The civil authorities are not able to change attitudes of students or indeed provide resources to patrol the streets around Trinity Hall at night.
He asks: "So why add to the problem?…This over-concentration of one bedroom apartments with transient occupants militates against the development of a balanced community identity."
In another submission, local resident, Roddy Slattery has told the Council that TCD hall residents and their numerous visitors "regularly depart late at night in a loud, mostly drunken state on their way down to the Milltown Luas station".
Mr Slattery states that any reassurances given about management control over student behaviour, including student fines or students being suspended for misbehaviour is useless and pointless, since most of the misbehaviour locals have to put up with comes from visitors or non-residents over which TCD has no supervisory or disciplinary rights.
An Bord Pleanála previously granted TCD the go-ahead for the student accommodation scheme at Trinity Hall in August 2020 despite local residents' concerns.
However, after a local resident, Patricia Kenny of Temple Road, Dartry, challenged the decision in the High Court, the appeals board in February of last year consented to the High Court quashing the planning permission and to a costs order in the case.
TCD lodged the new application in January and a decision is due in May.
Asked to comment on the allegations of student anti-social behaviour, a TCD spokeswoman said on Monday: "As copies of the observations have not been received by the College from An Bord Pleanála, it would not be appropriate to make any comment at this time" .
