MKN gets green light in Clontarf, but Killester plan is refused

MKN Property Group has received An Bord Pleanála's final seal of approval for a new-homes scheme in Clontarf, in north Dublin. Plans for its development on Vernon Avenue were held up last year when objectors appealed Dublin City Council's decision to permit the redevelopment of the former Verville Retreat site.

MKN originally sought planning permission for a 72-unit development, but the planning permission it obtained last month appears to allow for about 68 units in total. The project involves the refurbishment and reconfiguration of the former nursing home into high-end apartments, in addition to the construction of new apartment blocks on its grounds.

Nearby, the developer has failed to secure planning permission for the redevelopment of the former Holy Faith convent on St Brigid's Road in Killester. The property was offered for sale in 2017, seeking more than €3 million, on behalf of a religious order. Similar to its permitted Clontarf scheme, the developer's proposal sought to convert and extend the period building and construct two new blocks, providing a total of 79 apartments. A basement car park, incorporating 75 parking spaces and 70 bicycle spaces, was also proposed, in addition to eight three-bedroom houses, each with two parking spaces.

Local residents opposed the development alongside several politicians, including the Fianna Fáil TD Seán Haughey and the Labour Party Senator Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, both of whose objections included concerns about drainage and traffic. Dublin City Council subsequently refused planning permission. MKN has appealed the council's refusal to An Bord Pleanála.

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The development company has a solid record of building in north Dublin and selling homes to individual buyers once planning permission is obtained. Its Seascape apartment development in Clontarf was the first big north Dublin apartment scheme to be completed since the property market bottomed out in 2012.