AIB has got the go-ahead from An Bord Pleanála for a seven-storey office block on the site of its existing 1970s-built Bankcentre bounded by Merrion Road and Serpentine Avenue in Ballsbridge despite local opposition. Edel Morgan reports.

Three appeals representing over 100 households in the area were lodged to An Bord Pleanála against planning permission granted by Dublin City Council for the proposed 56,834 sq m (611,755 sq ft) office scheme on the 14-acre grounds. The appellants were Ballsbridge Management Company representing 90 apartments, Tom and Helen Marren, and 13 residents of Serpentine Avenue and Serpentine Terrace.

The plan is for three linked blocks rising from five to seven storeys. Ballsbridge Court Management Committee argued that the development should be no more than four storeys high and that its height and proximity will result in overshadowing, overlooking and loss of privacy. Another concern was the provision of 915 car-parking spaces for 4,500 staff.

Chartered town planners Stephen Little & Associates appealed on behalf of 13 residents of Serpentine Avenue and Serpentine Terrace. It called the scale and mass of the building "visually dominant" and overbearing, and requested an oral hearing by An Bord Pleanála.

However, AIB argued that there are several buildings in the area of a similar or greater heights, including the Sweepstake Development, Four Seasons Hotel, Bewleys Hotel and RDS complex, and an eight-storey commercial building to the west of the site. It said the development would be set back 54-101 metres from the boundary with Ballsbridge Court, and 39-61 metres from Serpentine Avenue.

The Bankcentre - designed by RKD architects - will be in two phases, the first involving 30,466 sq m (327,933 sq ft) of offices in four to six storeys, an atrium and five-storey glazed gallery. The second phase will involve a four to six-storey extension to the north of the building designed around a series of atria.