An Bord Pleanála has ruled in favour of a landmark 13-storey apartment tower in Tallaght town centre despite appeals by locals that its massive scale and height would overshadow their homes.

Shelbourne Developments - which is run by Garrett Kelleher who recently hit the headlines when he acquired the Lloyds building in London for stg£250 million - has been granted planning permission for the 389-unit tower on the 2.6-acre tax incentive site to the west of The Square shopping centre. The 39,563 sq m (455,852 sq ft) scheme at Belgard Square West and Cookstown Way will include shops, a crèche, restaurants and cafés, a leisure centre and a community room over two levels of underground car-parking. Virginia House, formerly a farmhouse and now home to Tallaght Community Arts Centre, will be demolished to make way for the high rise scheme. There will be eight blocks ranging from five to 13 stories high with 58 affordable units.

An appeal to South Dublin County Council's planning permission by Olive Dunne and others said the scale and height of the development would impact on nearby residential developments Virginia Heights and Springfield as a result of overlooking and overshadowing and would cause traffic congestion.

The appeal said the scheme represented a radical departure from the Tallaght Town centre Integrated Area plan (1999) and Tallaght Town Centre 2000 Urban Design Framework (1998) which cite medium rise developments of four/five storeys as appropriate. Tomás Healy's appeal said the provision for green space is inadequate and that 20 per cent of apartments - not 15 per cent - should be affordable starter homes.

St Mark's Residents Association was concerned about inadequate car-parking spaces and said the scheme would put excessive pressure on local services. It asked that Virginia House be preserved "as it forms part of our culture and heritage". An Bord Pleanála decided the scheme would be "consistent with the emerging form and character of the town centre area and would be acceptable in terms of traffic safety and convenience".

Planning permission was granted with 24 conditions.