Board rejects apartments plan at Dodder site

An Bord Pleanála has refused planning permission for development on the controversial "Scully's field" site near the river Dodder at Milltown in south Dublin.

The planning refusal for 18 apartments on the site follows a decision by An Bord Pleanála earlier this year to refuse planning permission for 92 apartments also on Scully's field.

Both planning applications provoked a storm of protest at Dublin City Council when it was discovered that although the land had been zoned as "open space" in the Dublin City Development Plan, the council executive had given both applications the go-ahead.

The council executive had also given an undertaking in writing to its own planners that it had no objection to access to Scully's field being across council-owned land.

The issue angered former lord mayor Dermot Lacey who yesterday warmly welcomed the decision "as the end of a 20-year battle to keep this site open space".

Mr Lacey said Dublin city councillors had been aghast to learn that the open space zoning could accommodate apartments and had since changed this zoning to specifically prohibit such development.

The move effectively means the only chance of the land being developed now is through rezoning, and Mr Lacey said there was little chance of that getting through the city council, "much as the executive might wish it".

"It is", he said, "a victory for democracy and the planning process."

Scully's field amounts to about 12 acres and Mr Lacey said it should now be acquired by the State for inclusion in the Dodder Linear Park which it adjoins.

He suggested finance for the acquisition could come from the Government's Dormant Accounts Fund which had been amassed from dormant savings accounts in banks and the Post Office. The Department of the Environment previously suggested that the money could be used for the development of recreation and leisure facilities.

An Bord Pleanála confirmed the planinng refusal yesterday but said it would probably be tomorrow before it announced the reasons for its decision.

However, it is believed the development was ruled out because it was inconsistent with the city development plan and was injurious to the amenities of the river Dodder area.