The two-year battle to get planning permission for new apartments in the convent grounds alongside Bushy Park at Templeogue Road, Dublin 6, is finally at an end. Developers Sheelin McSharry saw off residents objections to the end, and are revelling in this week's decision by An Bord Pleanala to give them permission for 272 two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments overlooking one of Dublin's best kept public parks.
Templeville and Fortfield Residents Association won't be comforted by knowing that they did the builders a great favour by holding up the development because apartment prices in the city haven't stopped rising since then. In addition to the apartments, the appeals board also cleared the way for a 5,000 sq ft extension to the 11,500 sq ft convent - formerly known as Bushy Park House - which will probably be let to one of the many high-tech companies looking for a smart address for their operations.
Businessmen John Kennedy and the McSharry brothers, Frank, Peter and Liam, paid £14 million for the 7.1-acre site, which was sold by a religious order of nuns, The Religious Christian Education. The four builders have been involved in a number of high-profile schemes over the years, including Herbert Park Lane, in Ballsbridge, which has 300 apartments, the Herbert Park Hotel and Embassy House office block.
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