British retirement housing developer scraps plans for Dalkey Manor site

PegasusLife had withdrawn application to build 57 apartments on one hectare site

Dalkey Manor, Barnhill Road, Dalkey: Deeming the site now unviable, developer  PegasusLife has now placed it back on the market.
Dalkey Manor, Barnhill Road, Dalkey: Deeming the site now unviable, developer PegasusLife has now placed it back on the market.

A British developer behind a five-storey retirement complex outside Dalkey village in Co Dublin has scrapped plans for the development at Dalkey Manor on Barnhill Road.

PegasusLife had withdrawn its application for planning permission to build six blocks of 57 apartments on the almost one hectare site in March last year after much local objection, but had said it would submit a new application.

However, in recent correspondence, the British retirement housing developer informed local residents it had made the decision not to proceed with the development due to planning restrictions and the fact that it had been unable to overcome planning issues. Deeming the site now unviable, it has now placed it on the market.

The Department of Arts and Heritage and An Taisce had raised concerns with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, along with almost 60 locals submitting observations, opposing the development.

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Concerns centred around the impact on a nearby protected structure, the mid-18th-century Dalkey Lodge, as well as the “unacceptably high density” of the development.

An assessment of the visual impact of the development on the protected structure was sought in the objections.

Dalkey Community Council had also said that there would be safety concerns with "large numbers of elderly people attempting to access Dalkey", possibly using mobility scooters, via Barnhill Road.

Described by James Meagher of Knight Frank as “arguably one of the most sought-after residential sites to come to the market in south Co Dublin”, it may not be the end of ambitious plans for this potentially lucrative plot.