County planners object to Hammerson’s 881-apartment plan for Dundrum

Plans for a complex of almost 900 apartments on the site of the old shopping centre in Dundrum, including a 16-storey block, would “significantly detract” from the character of the area and should be refused, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council has told An Bord Pleanála.

British property group Hammerson, which owns the Dundrum Town Centre, sought permission in April for the 11 block scheme. The complex of 881 apartments, along with cafés, restaurants, a crèche and some shops, is among the last major developments lodged under fast track Strategic Housing Development (SHD) process where applications for large schemes bypass the local authority planning system and are submitted directly to An Bord Pleanála.

In a report totalling more than 120 pages the council’s planners have urged the board to reject Hammerson’s scheme which they said was in conflict with the county development plan in a number of respects and would not be in accord with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.

It said there were “serious concerns” about the extent of the residential development which accounted for about 95 per cent of the use of the site. “It is the planning authority’s strong opinion that the subject proposal is not capable of delivering anything approaching an appropriate mix of uses,” it said.

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The “inadequate type and extent of non-residential uses” proposed would make a “null contribution to the site fulfilling its role as a strategic employment location”.

The demolition of a number of buildings on Main Street, though not protected structures, would impact on the town’s Architectural Conservation Area (ACA) and had not been adequately justified, it said.

The provision of 82 three-bed apartments, 9 per cent of the total, “does not comprise a balanced mix” it argued, and this was particularly relevant in an area dominated by semidetached two-storey houses.

“It is necessary that adequately sized apartments capable of meeting family needs are delivered in sufficient amount to cater [for] the population needs. Otherwise existing predominant ideas of apartment living comprising only a stepping stone for younger and more transient cohorts of the population before moving on to low rise housing will continue.”

The living conditions for future residents were also a serious concern, with “high levels of active and passive overlooking” of apartments and “very poor levels of residential amenity”, the council said.

“The proposal comprises overdevelopment of the subject site” and the average height of 12 storeys along the Dundrum bypass side of the scheme would have an “oppressing and dominant effect”, the council said.

“Having regard to the proposed mix of uses and, in particular the low quantum of non-residential uses proposed, the planning authority is not satisfied that the proposed development adequately contributes to delivering a vibrant and multifunctional major town centre at Dundrum.”

Hammerson has said their plans are “fully in line with national policy and SHD planning requirements” and that the town had an “exceptionally low residential component at present”. There would be shops and other non-residential elements in the new development, the company said.

More than 700 objections to the scheme have been lodged with the board. A decision is due next month.