The granting of permission for the Adamstown development has received a mixed response from local politicians, with the Labour Party welcoming the move but the Greens describing it as "a major blow to sustainable development", writes Joe Humphreys
The Green Party TD for Dublin Mid West, Mr Paul Gogarty, said the decision would place "huge hardship on the people of Lucan, in terms of extra traffic, extra pressure on schools, as well as major disruption while Adamstown is being built.
"It is not sustainable, even with the addition of extra conditions."
But a local Labour councillor, Senator Joanna Tuffy, said she believed the scheme offered the best prospect for the future as the developers were required to ensure the phased delivery of housing and infrastructure, including school buildings, public transport infrastructure and community facilities.
She said that, in adopting the plan, South Dublin County Council had taken a strategic approach rather than going back to the old ways of allowing ad-hoc construction and ill-thought-out, piecemeal development.
Ms Attracta Uí Bhroin, a spokeswoman for a local community group, Deliver It Right, said the Bord Pleanála ruling contained positive and negative elements.
A "major win" was the inclusion of public transport conditions, requiring the movement by rail of 3,000 commuters per peak hour.
The inclusion of permanent, rather than temporary, school structures and the upgrading of certain roads were also welcomed.
But, said Ms Uí Bhroin, the group was disappointed at both the absence of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and the failure to strengthen enforcement procedures.
"South Dublin County Council does not have the resources to manage enforcement of current developments, let alone a project of this scale," she said.
Mr Gogarty said the Green Party was raising the issue of the absence of an EIS with the European Commission, which had stipulated in previous rulings that such a statement was required with any major development.
Mr Gogarty added: "The real battle is now with the Departments of Education and Transport, and others, to ensure that funding is provided to lessen the negative impact of the Adamstown development."
An Independent councillor, Mr Derek Keating, said he continued to have serious concerns about the project in the absence of an EIS; the upgrading of local road networks, including the M50 and N4; and an improvement of the operational capacity of the local bus service.