Watch this Space

Hotel/apartment plan appealed: Planning permission granted by Dublin City Council for a 127-bed hotel and a six-storey block of apartments on Burlington Road in Dublin 4 has been challenged by a local woman.

Coolbrook Developments also got permission for a gymnasium, retail units and 166 car-parking spaces. The appellant, who has an address on Waterloo Lane, appealed on the grounds that the proposed building would be "overpowering" and "cause obliteration of a good light source" from Burlington Road and Flemming's Place.

She said a reduction of car-parking spaces from 190 to 166 would not ease her difficulty of gaining access to and from her property and the project would take a long time to complete - depriving her of the enjoyment of her property. "Who will clean our houses? Our properties will become dilapidated, and we will be deprived of the enjoyment of our gardens, due to noise and dirt. We will not be able to open our windows for the same reasons."

Further grounds of appeal

Deansgrange Residential Area Action Group (DRAAG) would like to point out following a report on March 4th that its appeal against planning permission for Lidl at Deansgrange crossroads, above, is also based on the impact on traffic congestion and visual amenity. It says the proposed development would destroy the village character of the crossroads "which we are trying hard to maintain in the absence of the local area development plan". It says amended plans for the supermarket "give us prison-type windows. The walls still mainly present a blank easel for graffiti artists, while the dock leveller creates a blind spot for loitering and possible anti-social behaviour."

It says there are already serious traffic problems at the crossroads and claims the traffic impact analyses (TIAs) are flawed and based on only one hour sample of traffic. "It is based on unlikely trading and usage patterns for the proposed outlet. Discount stores, by their nature, attract car-borne trade to avail of bulk buying opportunities."