Group won't 'sell out' to Dunne's €30m package

THE CHAIRMAN of Ringsend,Irishtown and Sandymount Environmental Group has said the group won't "sell out" for community funding being offered by developer Seán Dunne if he gets planning permission to re-develop the Jurys/Berkeley Court site in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.

The group is among 119 parties to appeal Seán Dunne's proposal for the Jurys/Berkeley Court site in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 to An Bord Pleanála and says the proposed development is "entirely out of character with Ballsbridge".

Chairman of the group Declan Cassidy says that, while residents appreciate the developer's "good manner" and "pragmatic attitude towards their concerns", they don't want to appear to "sell out for the goodies being offered" to the area.

Dublin City Council approved partial planning permission for a scheme that included an 18-storey building, 294 apartments, a 232-bedroom hotel, a shopping centre, an embassy building, cultural centre and a crèche on the site. The council planners rejected the controversial 37-storey landmark skyscraper aspect of the plans as well as a 10-storey office building. Seán Dunne, however, has suggested that construction on the project would not go ahead until planning permission was secured for the entire development.

He has promised community funding of over €30 million if his controversial plan for the Jurys/Berkeley Court site gets approval.

The community funding package would include €11 million on a new community centre for the Ringsend and Irishtown area, and €5 million to local amenities, as well as at least 50 social and affordable housing units.

The group has a number of concerns, including that the 37-storey tower - or a modified version of it - will be granted permission by An Bord Pleanála and set a precedent for other developments in the area. Cassidy says the Coffee Dock in Jurys and facilities at the Berkeley Court have been an amenity for local people and they want incorporated in the scheme "a place where you can get a reasonable priced late night meal".

The group also wants the exotic mix of trees in the grounds of the former Berkeley Court hotel re-instated. The residents are due to meet this week with a representative from Seán Dunne's company Mountbrook Homes. Among the other appellants to the scheme are Anglesea Road Residents Association, Upper Leeson Street Area Residents Association, Ballsbridge Wood Management Company, Shelbourne Road Residents Group and Simmonscourt Castle Residents Association.