Residents seeking to challenge Dublin housing development permission

Two local residents are seeking High Court permission to bring a challenge aimed at overturning permission for a development of 416 housing units on a site at Dublin’s South Circular Road.

When the application for leave to bring the challenge came before Mr Justice Richard Humphreys on Thursday, he agreed to adjourn it for a week to allow the legal papers be put in order.

Michael O’Donnell BL, for the applicants, said he wanted to make the core grounds of challenge shorter and more precise.

The proceedings arise from local concerns about the planned development, including about its height, density and traffic implications.

The applicants are Sinéad Kerins, of Rehoboth Place, Dolphins Barn, Dublin 8, and Mark Stedman, Elford Terrace, Donore Avenue, Dublin. Their intended action is against An Bord Pleanála, Ireland and the Attorney General, with the developer, the DBTR-SCR1 Fund, a sub fund of TWTC Multi-Family ICAV, as a notice party.

The case concerns a planned strategic housing development of 416 apartments in five blocks on a site at 326-328 South Circular Road. Under legislation introduced in 2016, permission for strategic housing developments of more than 100 units can be sought by a developer directly from the board rather than through the normal planning process.

The developer secured permission for the development from An Bord Pleanála last September. A board inspector had recommended permission be refused for reasons including his view the proposed development would seriously conflict with the policies and objectives of the planning authority for reasons including the number, scale, height and form of the proposed tall buildings, more than 50m high, and lack of public open spaces.

The board adopted certain findings of the inspector in his report but disagreed with the conclusions relied on by him in recommending permission be refused, including his conclusions concerning the effects of the development on population and human health, landscape and visual impacts and the interaction of those and other elements. The board concluded permission should be granted for reasons including its view there would be direct positive effects on population and human health because of the increase in housing stock.