Two Galway-based developers have succeeded in their second attempt to get planning permission to redevelop the landmark Bank of Ireland site at Deansgrange crossroads in D·n Laoghaire.
Earlier this year D·n Laoghaire Rathdown County Council turned down an application by developers John Lally and Bernard Duffy to demolish the busy bank branch and replace it with two buildings standing two and three-storeys high.
Had the issue gone to An Bord Pleanβla, local planners said it would have been a test case on whether permission should be forthcoming for the redevelopment of a low rise, largely open space site for two and three-storey mixed use buildings.
One of the opponents of the scheme, Councillor Betty Coffey, warned that "overdevelopment" would damage the character of the area. She also pointed out that apart from traffic congestion, pedestrian safety and parking problems associated with the original scheme, it would also set a precedent which might well be followed in other "villages" such as Baker's Corner and Sallynoggin in the immediate area.
Sensing that they had a battle on their hands, the two developers opened discussions with local interests and introduced a number of changes to meet the objections. Not surprisingly, the second application got approval this week for a mixed use complex which will include over 12,000 sq ft of retail space, 10,000 sq ft of offices and a further 7,700 sq ft of "office-based industry".
There will also be six medical consulting rooms and a high quality gym with over 7,000 sq ft of space. Provision has also been made for surface and underground car-parking, with access off Clonkeen Road and Kill Road.
The Bank of Ireland branch is to operate from a temporary premises on the site for up to two years while the buildings are being completed. The fuss created by the Deansgrange planning issue underlines the different views on how suburban land should be used. Many experts contend that buildings in the Dublin suburbs are too low and promote urban sprawl.
Other European cities can accommodate eight times more people on similar "footprints". Neighbourhood centres are generally easier to service when they are located along public transport lines.
Height was also a central issue in the decision by Dublin Corporation this week to refuse planning permission for the redevelopment of the Ever Ready Centre in Donnybrook, Dublin 4.
Businessman John O'Sullivan had sought permission to demolish the existing buildings and replace them with a four-storey building which would include four car units at street level, 37 basement car spaces, 28 apartments at first, second and third-floor levels, and four penthouses at the fourth-floor level.
The planners ruled that because of the height, length and design of the buildings, they would be visually obtrusive and result in overlooking of properties on Eglinton Road .
