Property developer Seán Dunne and a Dublin solicitor are seeking to overturn the granting of planning permission for a development of seven apartments adjoining their homes on Dublin's exclusive Shrewsbury Road. The proposed development is on the former site of the Chester Beatty library at 20 Shrewsbury Road.
Among the objections raised to the proposed development is that the developer, O'Malley Construction Co Ltd, has not specified how it will conform with the requirements of the planning acts for social and affordable housing, Mr Justice Brian McGovern was told.
The action has been brought by Mr Dunne and Stephen MacKenzie, both of Shrewsbury Road, against An Bord Pleanála with O'Malley Construction and Dublin City Council as notice parties. The case opened yesterday and is expected to last four days.
Outlining the case, Hugh O'Neill SC, for Mr Dunne and Mr MacKenzie, said the proposed development is for seven apartments in a two/three-storey building over basement on the site at Shrewsbury Road of the former Chester Beatty library, which relocated to Dublin Castle in 1999.
He was contending the decisions of An Bord Pleanála in 2004 and 2005 upholding the decision of Dublin City Council to grant permission for the development breached a number of planning regulations, including requirements relating to posting site notices for proposed development.
The nature and extent of the proposed development was not properly described, counsel argued. The initial application failed to state that the proposed development involved the demolition of two habitable houses on the site, which had been used by curators of the library.
Mr O'Neill further argued that the board, in circumstances where its own inspector had recommended that permission be refused, had failed to show adequate reasons for its decision to grant permission and had failed to deal with the serious and significant issues raised by his clients in their appeals against the adequacy of the planning application.
Shrewsbury Road is in a residential conservation area and special consideration had to be taken when assessing any proposed developments in the area, Mr O'Neill argued.
An Bord Pleanála has denied the claims.