Councillors oppose bank's plan

A planning application to redevelop the Bank of Ireland site at Deansgrange in south Co Dublin has met with strong opposition from members of the local authority.

The application to demolish the existing bank premises and to erect a three-storey with penthouse building of more than 6,000 sq m, was lodged with Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council recently. It includes 2,404 sq m of retail space, 3,326 sq m of office space, and 372 sq m for the bank. Provision is made for 244 underground car-parking spaces on two levels with access off Clonkeen Road.

The Fianna Fail leader on Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council Ms Betty Coffey has criticised the plan saying that it represented "overdevelopment" which would damage the character of the area. Councillor Coffey has now tabled a motion to amend the County Development Plan to prevent this and similar style developments elsewhere.

The Deansgrange area is also facing further development at the Deansgrange Business Park and Councillor Coffey insists that the scale of the development would mean the loss of the distinctive "village-like" character of the area. She also took issue with a traffic impact study which the bank submitted with its application saying "I travel through this area and I am not at all impressed with the study. There are regular traffic jams at this junction."

The councillor also said that the "scale and height of these proposals would change the character of the area to the detriment of local residents and would place an intolerable burden on the locality in terms of traffic, pedestrian safety and parking."

Such a planning application, should it be granted, would have serious consequences for other "villages" such as Baker's Corner, and Sallynoggin in the immediate area, she added.

The application has also drawn opposition from the Fine Gael group on the council. Councillor Eoin Costello said "the destruction of Deansgrange as an urban village is assured" if the application is given the go-ahead." About 500 residents also attended a public meeting to voice their opposition to the application. One element of the application which has provoked deep suspicions amongst residents' groups is the provision of 1,507 sq m for a library facility, as there is already a library in Council ownership within a few metres of the proposed scheme.

According to Councillor Costello, many residents felt the inclusion of the library in the main application "was the thin end of the wedge which includes a longer term plan to demolish the current library and subsume the land it occupies into the land covered by this proposal."

Another element to the plan which has provoked anger is the application by the Bank of Ireland, to erect a Portakabin on the Council owned land surrounding the library for use as a bank for 30 months. Many residents felt that the bank is showing little respect for the local community.