Council refuses permission for contentious Drumcondra development

Dublin City Council has refused planning permission for a contentious 74-unit build-to-rent scheme in Drumcondra.

The eight-storey scheme for Turnpike Lane at the rear of 59-69 Drumcondra Road Lower in Dublin 9 attracted local objections, while An Taisce also opposed it.

In refusing planning permission to Ginxo Trading Ltd, the council concluded that that the proposal "would constitute overdevelopment of the backland site and result in a visually discordant feature in the landscape which would be intrusive and overbearing when viewed on approach from the south along Drumcondra Road Lower".

The council also ruled that the scheme “would detract from the visual amenities of the surrounding residential conservation area”.

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The planning authority determined that the scheme’s excessive and overbearing height “would have a significant and seriously injurious impact on the special architectural character, setting and amenity of the protected structures and impact adversely on the residential amenities of these properties”.

An objection lodged on behalf of a number of residents of Drumcondra Road said the proposal “is reminiscent of the doomed high rise building disasters of the 1960s and incompatible with sustainable development” due to its scale, density and lack of on-site amenities.

An Taisce told the council that the scheme should be refused permission “as it would constitute gross overdevelopment to the rear of a terrace of protected structures and would fail to protect the amenities, setting and special interest of this terrace”.

A report lodged on behalf of the applicants by PMCA Architects and Planning argued that the site “represents an opportunity to transform a derelict under-utilised site by creating a sustainable residential development”.