An Bord Pleanála is to decide the fate of Clancy Barracks in Dublin 8, where a massive residential and high rise hotel complex is proposed. Edel Morgan reports.
An Taisce has appealed the planning permission granted to Florence Properties and Chanterwork Properties by Dublin City Council before Christmas because it says the 15-storey hotel would impact upon "the great landscape character" of the area and its historic landmarks.
It also contends that the development incorporates "some awkward combinations and juxtapositions of new buildings and old ones".
The proposal for the redevelopment of the 19th century barracks near Heuston Station is for over 800 apartments in 45 blocks and a 15-storey hotel.
The developer is looking to demolish three-quarters of the existing 42 listed buildings to make way for the new development. A further 11 will be refurbished, although parts of them will be demolished and removed.
An Taisce and Friends of Kilmainham have appealed the scheme to An Bord Pleanála.
Both say they welcome the regeneration of the former barracks site but are unhappy with the proposed design.
In its appeal, An Taisce says Clancy Barracks represents an opportunity to create a well-designed mixed-use urban district, while opening up a largely unknown and unseen collection of historic buildings.
However, it says the scale of the new development is undeniably large "and in some circumstances poses a threat to the integrity of the older buildings in the site".
It also says the Clancy Barracks site is not designated for tall buildings under the Heuston Area Regeneration Strategy.
The Friends of Kilmainham say they are concerned about the ownership of Clancy Barracks which is controlled by an offshore trust in Jersey.
"It is not clear what measures, if any, can be taken against the developers if they fail to comply with the conditions of any planning permission," says their appeal.
The projected population of 3,000 on a site of 5.6 hectares would result in a population of 536 people per hectare.
"We ask whether a sustainable community of medium and long term residents can be achieved at densities of this order," says the appeal.
"Regrettably the developers flunked it, instead of approaching the site with a sense of vision and ambition, they went for maximum density dormitory accommodation targeted at investor purchases and suited to a transient population."
The developer has lodged a first party appeal to a number of conditions of permission, including one that it provide for an "appropriate-sized" primary school. It says the existing level of schooling in the area is adequate.
It has also appealed a condition which requires half of the residential units to exceed a minimum floor area of 80sq m (861sq ft) to ensure a sustainable mix of apartments.
The developer, however, says the overall layout and design of the proposed apartment units "are of a very high quality and a large proportion of the units are now laid out to provide specifically for family living."
Florence Properties, which bought the site from the Department of Defence in 2002 for more than €25 million, is owned by Florence Properties Jersey, which in turn is owned by a trust controlled by the family of David Kennedy, an Irish-born property developer active in London.
