Blackrock Clinic founder James Sheehan objects to nearby apartment plan

Blackrock Clinic co-founder James Sheehan claims a plan for 358 apartments and eight homes at nearby Cross Avenue “is grossly excessive”.

Last month, Cairn Homes lodged “fast track” plans with An Bord Pleanála for the scheme that will include 355 build-to-rent apartments at Chesterfield, on Blackrock’s exclusive Cross Avenue. The build-to-rent apartments are to be constructed across six blocks, ranging from three to eight storeys in height.

More than 30 objections have been lodged against the Strategic Housing Development scheme and, in his own submission, Mr Sheehan, who also co-founded the Hermitage and Galway Clinic, said the proposed development was “grossly excessive for an area that is already congested with traffic and is detrimental to the proper planning of mature areas of the borough”.

Mr Sheehan, who lives on Cross Avenue, said “the concept of build to rent for the apartments does not encourage a stable community as many renters are there on a short-term lease”. Elsewhere in his one-page submission, he states the scale of the apartments “is grossly excessive and taller than any building in the area”.

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He said “Cross Avenue is a mature historic avenue with low-rise housing, most of which are two-storey. The proposed development increased the number of existing residences by a factor of five.”

While the development at Chesterfield is suitable for residential, he said, it should be in keeping with the area’s development – detached and semi-detached homes.

Residents of seven households at Redwood Grove, adjacent to the site, claim the development gives the impression of a scheme shoehorned into a completely inappropriate physical and residential environment.

A planning report lodged on behalf of Cairn by consultants McCutcheon Halley says the proposed development is a well-considered design that would provide a high-quality living environment for future residents and would not adversely affect the amenity of adjacent land uses.

The consultants state the proposed density is compliant with national and regional planning policy. Cairn previously secured planning permission for a 221-unit development at the site in February 2019.

However, that permission was challenged in a judicial review, and an order setting aside the decision was made by the High Court in July 2019.

The developer’s consultants say that order related to public participation, namely, a discrepancy between hard copies of a Bat report submitted to An Bord Pleanála with the application and the copy made available on Cairn’s website.