Dublin City Council has given permission to Griffith College in Dublin to build a multimillion-euro expansion to its campus.
The planning authority has given the scheme the go-ahead after Griffith College scaled back its original proposals lodged earlier this year.
In the scheme, the college is looking to adapt its existing campus at South Circular Rd, Dublin 8 “to allow for future student growth over the next decade” in order to increase from 7,000 students currently enrolled, 5,500 of whom attend the Dublin campus, to 11,000 students by 2030.
The workforce is due to increase from 400 staff members currently to 600 in 2030.
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The council granted permission after the college lodged revised plans in response to a request for further information from the council earlier this year.
In the planning report giving the scheme the go-ahead, the council welcomed the series of revisions provided last month by the college.
In relation to the Quad Building, Griffith College reduced the overall scale of the proposed extensions through the omission of upper floor accommodation.
The council said that while the footprint of the extension has increased slightly to compensate for the loss of upper floor space, “this increase is modest and does not materially alter the overall assessment of the proposal”.
The college also omitted the proposed extension to the Quarter Master’s House in its entirety and this element of the development will be considered separately at a future date.
In relation to the Teaching and Learning Building, the college has reduced in scale the upper floor through the removal of exhibition and event space and the rationalisation of internal accommodation.
The council stated this has reduced the overall bulk and visual prominence of the building.
The planner’s report stated that that the applicant has, in general, satisfactorily addressed the issues raised. The council has attached 23 conditions to the permission including one that the college pay €942,291 in development contributions.
The most recent accounts for Griffith College show that last year pretax profits increased by 37 per cent to €6.58 million.
Consolidated accounts filed by Bellerophon Ltd show that the group enjoyed the jump in profits as revenues increased by 7.6 per cent from €33.88 million to €36.48 million in the 12 months to the end of June last year.
Established in 1974, Griffith College has grown into Ireland’s largest independent third-level institution, with students in Dublin, Cork, and Limerick.
