The High Court yesterday found that Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Council misapplied the terms of its own planning scheme for the Cherrywood area in south Dublin when it refused O'Flynn Capital Partners (OFCP) permission to build 164 houses on a site in Cabinteely.
The company, led by Cork developer Michael O’Flynn, first sought permission for the new homes on a 5.3-hectare site two years ago.
The area is in the Cherrywood strategic development zone, and has been earmarked for housing and employment. That is supported by a planning scheme which is intended to speed up the provision of amenities and to streamline applications for development.
Flood risk
However, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown refused permission for the O’Flynn project, valued at €70 million and known as Beech
Park
. The council maintained that the proposal contravened the planning scheme for the area, posed a flood risk and would affect the use of the nearby N11 dual carriageway connecting the capital with the southeast.
A key flashpoint between the two sides was the Druid's Glen Road. This is a proposed route connecting the area in which OFCP and a number of other companies want to build with the nearby N11. O'Flynn Capital owns part of the land that this road was going to cross.
In its case, OFCP said that the council wanted the company to build the road to give Tudor Homes and the receiver of another company, Benreef, access to land that they own close to the O'Flynn site.
Strategic plan
OFCP’s adviser, town planning consultant
Tom Phillips
, told the court that the company was not obliged to do this and that the strategic plan for the area provided that the road would be built by each of the companies whose land it crossed.
The High Court yesterday ruled in OFCP’s favour. It found that the council’s decision to refuse the company permission to build the 164 homes was unlawful.
Mr Justice Robert Haughton said that the council misconstrued and misapplied the terms of its own planning scheme, that it had either had an improper motive for doing this, or had taken irrelevant matters into consideration.
He set aside the local authority’s decision and ruled that the developer should be allowed to submit a fresh application for the project.
