Planning delays have set back Lioncor's plans for a new €100m 208 residential unit for Terenure in Dublin by over two years.
That is according to CEO of Lioncor, John Maxwell who has welcomed An Bord Pleanála’s grant of permission for the 208-unit five-block scheme rising up to six storeys on the 'Carlisle’ site located to the north and east of the Ben Dunne Gym, at Kimmage Rd West, Terenure.
On the need to increase housing delivery nationally, Mr Maxwell said: "You can’t just turn on a tap and increase delivery. In the case of ‘Carlisle’, it will have taken us six years from acquisition to completion for a zoned residential site in a south city suburb.
"Planning delays added over two years to that timeline."
"We are delighted to have secured a planning grant for the 208 social and affordable units through the new Large-scale Residential Development (LRD) planning system," Mr Maxwell said.
"We look forward to delivering this much needed housing stock to the residents of Dublin 6w in the midst of a housing crisis. We expect to commence on site later this year with the first units likely to be complete within 24 months of commencement," he said.
The LRD application - made up of 104 one-bed units and 104 two-bed units - by 1 Terenure Land Ltd was Lioncor’s second attempt to secure planning permission for the site.
Last year, Lioncor secured planning permission for the scheme which also contained 208 units for the same site under An Bord Pleanála’s ‘fast-track’ process.
However, that permission was challenged in the High Court by way of Judicial Review by the Kimmage Dublin Residents Alliance CLG.
Asked to comment on general market conditions in the residential sector, Mr Maxwell said: "New housing development remains very subdued, the challenges around planning and planning reform are unresolved, viability challenges are more pronounced than ever with construction cost inflation and development funding being a significant issue for the industry."
"I expect completions this year will be in line with or slightly below last year but we need to be delivering 50,000-60,000 units per year for the next 10 years and we are struggling to deliver 30,000 units," Mr Maxwell said.
Dublin City Council granted planning permission to the new scheme in March and it came before An Bord Pleanála on third party appeals by Elizabeth O'Callaghan and Kimmage Dublin Residents Alliance.
The appeals board granted planning permission after its inspector, Paul O’Brien concluded that the site "is zoned for residential development, is located in an established urban area and with access to existing services, including public transport".
"I have no reason, therefore, to recommend to the Board that permission be refused due to impact on the residential amenity of the existing area," he said.
A letter lodged with the application by Padraic Clancy of Co-Operative Housing Ireland states that CHI "subject to planning permission and contracts have an interest in acquiring the entire of this project with the support of Dublin City Council (Housing Dept) and the Dept of Housing and Local Government".
"There is strong support for this scheme from both Housing Departments as there is a huge demand for social housing in the Kimmage area," he said.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
