As local representative for the Harold’s Cross are I made the following observations on SHD application ref: 314124, for 194 apartments along with a creche and commercial units on lands at Harold’s Bridge Court and nos. 1 to 3 Clare Villas.

I agreed with the Harold’s Cross Community Council and the residents it represents that it is important to view this application in the context of an earlier application to Dublin City Council by the same applicant to redevelop the same site – planning reference 3605/16 – which was rejected by Dublin City Council. This refusal was appealed by the applicant to An Bord Pleanála – case reference 247583 – and upheld.

Notwithstanding the fact that the applicants, The Adroit Company Ltd, have made some notable improvements to the nature of their current proposal, primarily around addressing issues of permeability and compliance with the Z6 zoning of the MART warehouse, I think it must be acknowledged that a maximum four storey scheme of 121 apartments proposed in 2016 and rejected by An Bord Pleanala on the grounds of the scale, height and mass as being ‘visually obtrusive’, ‘out of scale’ and representing ‘overdevelopment’ is returning to planners in the guise of a Strategic Housing Development, with increased scale, height, mass and density.

You can read my complete submission here.