Some of the country’s best known retail brands have appealed against Fingal County Council granting planning permission to contentious €450 million plans for a 971-unit apartment scheme for the Blanchardstown Town Centre site.
The council granted planning permission last month to Goldman Sachs, which owns the shopping centre, for the mixed-use scheme comprising seven apartment blocks. One of the blocks is set to be 16 storeys tall.
Now eight third-party appeals have been lodged with An Bord Pleanála against the decision. Those appealing include Smyths Toys, TK Maxx, Woodies DIY, Harvey Norman and Lifestyle Sports.
Applicants and Goldman Sachs entity Blanche Retail Nominee Ltd have also lodged a first-party appeal against the decision. An applicant would usually appeal against certain conditions tagged to the overall decision.
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Other third-party appellants are listed as the Whitestown Residents and others, Cllr John Walsh (Lab) and local resident Glen Conroy from the nearby Hillbrook Woods, Dublin 15.
The council granted planning permission after concluding that the scheme would contribute to consolidating Blanchardstown Town Centre and provide residential development close to existing services and facilities.
On behalf of Lifestyle Sports, head of sustainability, property and LP Muriel O’Keeffe stated her company was “alarmed by the proposed reduction in customer car-parking space. It is difficult to comprehend how the applicant could consider this acceptable.”
Ms O’Keeffe stated that there will be an overall reduction of 525 retail car parking post-development, stating “our customers will simply go elsewhere should there be such a significant reduction in car parking at the application site”.
Consultants for Smyths Toys, RW Nowlan & Associates, stated that “it is simply unacceptable” that substandard parking provision for the existing retail units would be available for at least 2½ years at a minimum. They stated: “This development should not be permitted to proceed until such a time as a significant and vast reduction in the scale of the development is undertaken.”
On behalf of TK Maxx, director at Tom Phillips + Associates, John Gannon contended that the proposed development “has the potential to significantly impacted upon the commercial operations of TK Maxx, on a long-term basis due to the reduced and less convenient car provision and also for a prolonged temporary period arising from the construction stage”.
On behalf of Woodies DIY, RW Nowlan & Associates have stated that planning permission “should be refused in this instance pending review and consultation by the applicant with the existing business operators with the retail park to provide a sustainable solution to development at the subject site”.
