Planning permission granted by Dublin City Council for part of a €500 million development located opposite Heuston Station has been appealed by two parties, one of whom says it "squanders" the opportunity to create "exciting and meaningful spaces and interesting links into the cultural and architectural treasures on its doorstep". Edel Morgan reports.
The appeals relate to the 9.5-acre Westgate site which is located at St John's Road and Military Road and is jointly owned by Eircom and the OPW.
A second 4.5-acre site is owned by the OPW.
The total proposed development of both sites includes 650 apartments and 69,677 sq m (750,000 sq ft) of office space designed to accommodate 5,000 workers.
While the site is touted as part of the Heuston gateway framework strategy, one of the appellants, the South West Inner City Network, claims the framework strategy has never formally "been debated, approved or voted on" by Dublin City Council.
"It is not a valid document upon which to make a decision," says the appeal. It also questions whether the development is the most efficient use of public lands when there are 6,500 people on the housing list.
It says that "an excessive quantum" of office development may create a glut of office space in the market and that it will have a negative impact on Kilmainham Park, the formal gardens of the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham "and remaining Gandon viewing lines".
Peter Keenahan, an architect based in Kilmainham, said that while he fully supports the concept of significant urban regeneration of the areas around Heuston station, he believes the vehicular access and car-parking arrangements at the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham "compromises the integrity of this world-class cultural asset and endangers public safety".
He contends that bus and car-parking is inappropriately located on the opposite side of the complex to the main entry point on Military Road "resulting in traffic circling the 17th century building en route to and from parking areas".
He said the design of the scheme has a "repetitive pattern of free-standing blocks as opposed to a new pattern of streets and spaces. The proposed development is closer in its thinking to old Ballymun than new Ballymun.
"It is just not acceptable that a major state-sponsored redevelopment in a sensitive historical context should feature a drawing-by-numbers apartment block that you could cut and paste in five minutes."
His appeal did, however, praise the high profile buildings proposed for the site on John's Road and at the corner with Military Road which "appear to be as good as any speculative office block currently being built in Dublin".
