An expensive new housing estate has been unexpectedly given the go-ahead on the edge of the Phoenix Park, close to Farmleigh, the former Guinness home which was bought and restored by the State in recent years.
Dublin's most prolific housebuilder, Mr Seamus Ross, yesterday secured planning permission to build 85 houses and 190 apartments in a parkland setting across the road from Farmleigh.
The 28-acre site at White's Road formed part of the Farmleigh estate up to four years ago when it was bought from the Guinness family for €25 million.
In a most unusual move, An Bord Pleanála overruled both Fingal County Council and its own inspector to grant permission for the development, which is likely to be the most sought-after for years on the north side of the city.
One estate agent is already dubbing it "the Shrewsbury Road of the north side".
Most of the homes will be three-storey five-bedroom units with floor areas of 208 sq m (2,238 sq ft) which are likely to make over €1.5 million. Two-bedroom apartments are expected to sell for over €500,000 while penthouses will probably fetch more than €1 million each.
The appeals board cited national policy to justify the permission, mentioning that the site was zoned for housing and was within easy proximity of the city centre. It said the development would not result in an undue or excessive loss of mature trees and would not unduly affect the character or setting of Mount Hybla, a rambling mansion built in the 1730s in the middle of the site.
This house is to be converted into a five-star bed-and-breakfast surrounded by formal gardens. The stables are also to be refurbished to provide further bedroom suites. A small gym, leisure centre and crèche are also to be provided.
The developer is to be allowed to demolish two modern houses to make way for the new scheme.
The board ruled that 20 houses should be omitted from the overall plan at this stage, although a new planning application can be made for six replacement houses on a different part of the site.
Last October Fingal County Council refused permission for the entire scheme on the grounds that it materially contravened the develoment plan objective of two units per hectare, a leftover from the last development plan.
The Fingal planners also held that the project "failed to accord with the public open-space requirement of the development plan" because it involved the demolition of two houses and materially contravened the land-use zoning objective for the area.
