The €350 million redevelopment of Ballymun town centre has been challenged to An Bord Pleanála by occupants of the existing Ballymun shopping centre. Edel Morgan reports.
Ballymun Shopping Centre Ltd, a subsidiary of Treasury Holdings was granted a 10-year planning permission by Dublin City Council to redevelop Ballymun town centre into one of the biggest mixed use retail, residential and commercial schemes in the country.
The permission is for a 170,000 sq metre mixed use town centre scheme with retail, leisure facilities, restaurants, bars , offices, a car showroom and apartments on a site which extends from Silloge Road to thenew Ballymun Main Street and across to Silloge Avenue.
Southside Taverns which operates a Molloys Liquor store at Ballymun Shopping Centre says it never consented to the application, which involves the demolition of the existing shopping centre, and "entered into no agreement with applications in relation to these proposals."
According to an appeal letter written by Fergal McCabe architect and town planner on Southside Taverns behalf, "the scheme as designed does not provide for the retention of my clients' property in its present position."
Another appeal was lodged by Sudway & Co chartered surveyors on behalf of Oliver Scully who has a business at the shopping centre. It says the appeal against the excessive scale and density of the scheme and the effectof the scheme would be "to destroy the livelihood of client and his employees . Even during the construction of phase one it is highly likely that my clients' business will be so severely affected so as to cause its extinguishment."
It says that inadequate provision has been made for "the servicing of my client's unit during the construction of phase one and no provision has been made to relocate my client during phase two."
Treasury Holdings also appealed against a number of conditions of planning permission. Several of the conditions reduce the number of car parking spaces from 2,000 to under 600 which it believes is insufficient and would make the scheme unattractive to consumers and retailers .
Another condition requires that there should be two pedestrian accesses to the west of the scheme. However the developer has been advised by its agent Hamilton Osborne King that too many access points would make the shopping centre too "permeable" and weaken attractiveness to potential retailers.
The proposal for the first phase is for 8,312 sq metres of net lettable retail floor space in 14 units including an anchor store measuring 4,430 sq ft. There would also be 30 retail service units including restaurants, a foodcourt and two pubs.
A 10-screen cinema and a medical centre will also be built on the site and 157 units.
The second phase will provide a further 36 shops and 317 apartments, offices, restaurants and a public library.
