Irish property investment group Tetrarch Residential has been given the go-ahead to build an “age-friendly” assisted living development on land owned by the Society of Sacred Heart order of nuns at Mount Anville in Goatstown, south Dublin, after the only appeal against the plan was withdrawn.
The large-scale residential scheme will see the construction of 114 units for assisted living, comprising 100 apartments and 14 houses. The units will be built on a 2.9 acre site known as the “old farm” on the grounds of Mount Anville beside the girls schools.
There will be seven apartment blocks, two of which will be five-storeys high, while the others will have either two or three storeys.
It is understood the developers have addressed the privacy concerns of a couple living nearby who were concerned that the development “would have a significant overbearing and overshadowing effect” on their rear garden. The couple’s appeal to An Bord Pleanála was withdrawn last month, documents show.
Permission for the scheme was first granted by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in April this year. Under the plans, the units will be available for both sale and rent to people aged 65 and over, and for the provision of social housing for older people on the local authority housing list. About 12 of the units will be allocated to members of the Society.
Tetrarch, which is led by chief executive Dominic Trainor, was not available for comment. The group plans to become Ireland’s largest provider of assisted living communities and housing for older people with its current pipeline of sites said to have the potential for development of more than 600 homes in the Greater Dublin Area, aimed at the rapidly expanding 65-plus demographic.
The Mount Anville scheme is designed to provide local residents with “the option to right-size to a very high-quality alternative to their current dwellings”, it said when it first sought planning permission in 2023. The first units are expected to become available in 2026.
It will overlook a two-acre landscaped walled garden that will be open to the public during the day. The plans for the garden include the refurbishment and maintenance of an existing historic glasshouse, which is a protected structure. There are also plans to open a cafe.
In addition, there will be 76 car parking and 147 bicycle spaces, a gym area, a library and reading room, a small cinema and medical and wellness areas on the site.
The project will not affect the educational facilities associated with the Mount Anville Schools, including the extensive sports facilities. The pedestrian access from Lower Kilmacud Road will be preserved for students and access for Sophie Barat Residences will also be preserved.
The land is owned by the Irish/Scottish Province of the Society of the Sacred Heart. The order was founded in France in 1800 and came to Ireland in 1842, first establishing a convent and schools at Mount Anville in 1865. Today, the province is made up of fewer than 40 sisters with an average age of 83 years, all of whom are retired.
The Society, with the assistance of its property and planning advises, explored “a range of options” for the lands before choosing Tetrarch Residential as its development partner.
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