Fresh setback for Johnny Ronan’s Irish Glass Bottle site at Poolbeg

Plans by developer Johnny Ronan to redevelop the former Irish Glass Bottle site at Poolbeg in Dublin have suffered a fresh setback.

Dublin City Council has refused planning permission to Pembroke Beach DAC, a consortium led by Ronan Group Real Estate (RGRE), to construct a life-science and innovation hub mixed-use scheme at the former Irish Glass Bottle site.

The Pembroke Quarter Phase A scheme comprises a 44,993sq m mixed-use scheme in two office blocks with one reaching 12 storeys in height and a second up to seven storeys.

Planning documentation lodged with the application stated that the proposal “constitutes a high-quality development” and would “comprise a significant quantum of commercial space”.

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The planning refusal comes after the city council last month refused planning permission for Pembroke Beach DAC’s plans for 516 apartments on the site.

The National Asset Management Agency, with a 20 per cent shareholding, and Oaktree Capital, co-owner of Lioncor Developments, are also part of the Pembroke Beach DAC consortium

The council refused planning permission for the life science and innovation hub because a finalised Natura Impact Statement (NIS) had not been submitted..

The council pointed out that the proposed development site was 200m from the south Dublin Bay special area of conservation and 220m from the south Dublin Bay and river Tolka estuary special protection area.

Due to the fact that the impact statement was not submitted the council said it could not be satisfied, beyond reasonable scientific doubt, that the proposed development would not adversely affect the integrity of these European conservation sites in view of the sites’ conservation objectives.

The council planner’s report said the lack of a finalised NIS for the scheme was “not acceptable”.

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“Given that the environmental impacts of this development, which is consistent with the planning scheme published in 2019, were comprehensively assessed by Dublin City Council and An Bord Pleanála as part of the adoption of the strategic development zone, we are surprised by this refusal, ” a spokesman for Pembroke Beach DAC said on Tuesday.

He added: “This commercial phase of the development of Glass Bottle will go to providing vital infrastructure needed for Dublin’s newest neighbourhood to thrive and we are confident that our plans for the area – which include an ambitious life sciences and innovation hub – align fully with the planning scheme and also follow best practice in sustainability, ensuring that special areas of conservation are protected.”

In February, Pembroke Beach DAC secured planning permission for 324 units at the former Irish Glass Bottle site in a separate planning application.