Discount supermarket chain Aldi is looking to build 175 apartments on the former Premier Dairies site in Finglas. This is the third time the German company has sought permission on the large site on the Finglas Road in Dublin 11.

In 2004 both Dublin City Council and An Bord Pleanála refused permission for a single storey discount food store on a 0.77-hectare part of the site.

The board ruled that the store would have a "negative impact on the vitality and viability of Finglas village" and because the area already had an "overprovision of retail developments of similar format".

A year later it was refused planning permission for a store and 104 apartments in five blocks ranging form three to five storeys on an 0.81-hectare part of the same site.

The planning board refused the scheme on the grounds that the "extensive surface retail parking would result in a poor residential environment".

This time out Aldi is looking for permission to build a residential scheme on its own, without a discount store, on a larger portion of the site.

If it gets the go-ahead it will comprise three apartment blocks ranging in height from six to eight storeys.

The bulk of the apartments, 133, will be two-bedroom. A crèche will also be provided.