Green light for 1,102 residential units on Old Naas Road

Dublin City Council has given the green light to plans for 1,102 residential units – the vast majority build-to-rent apartments – on the outskirts of Dublin.

The plan by Shorevale Investments for the Royal Liver Assurance Retail Park on the Old Naas Road, Dublin 12 will see nine blocks ranging from seven storeys upwards. It will include an 18-storey office building.

The plan also includes a 203-unit build-to-rent shared accommodation scheme.

The council has given the plan the go-ahead despite opposition from BOC gases, the main supplier of medical oxygen to the HSE in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

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BOC Gases has its Irish production headquarters on a site adjacent to the proposed development and objected to the residential component so close to an industrial site.

The council planning report said the plan would secure “the redevelopment of under-utilised urban land in a prime location strategically positioned beside a major transport node… and would be consistent with guidance which seeks to secure more compact and higher density development in the wider city area”.

The 18-storey “landmark” tower will rise to a height of 77.6m. While it noted objections relating to the density of the development and its height, the planning report said that, in principle, a high density residential development in this area was considered acceptable and necessary to achieve national objectives.

Revised plans

Underlining the scale of the proposal, the council has ordered the developer to pay €7.7 million in planning contributions for public infrastructure and facilities benefiting the development.

The green light came after the developer lodged revised plans in February.

In its objection, BOC Gases told the city council it had no intention of relocating from the site and claimed the application contravened the local area plan.

It said the site along its western boundary was not a suitable environment for residential use, due to human health concerns generated by the existing major industrial production facilities.

Among other objectors, Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh said the scale proposed was totally out of sync with the low rise and low density neighbourhood.