Lamb Doyle's apartment plan opposed

A plan to redevelop well-known Dublin pub Lamb Doyle's is to be opposed by An Taisce and local residents.

The owners of the pub, on Blackglen Road in Sandyford at the foot of the Dublin mountains, plan to demolish it and replace it with a mixed-use development of three to five storeys.

Lamb Doyle's Ltd has applied to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to build 41 apartments on the 0.5 hectare site, with two retail units and a new pub and restaurant, in three blocks. The plan includes car parking with 148 spaces, most of which would be underground.

The development would border Fitzsimon's Wood, a designated national heritage area and the last urban birch woodland in Dublin.

The original two-storey pub dates to the 1870s but was rebuilt in the 1960s. The current owners, the Morton family, bought it in 1992.

David Roe, local resident and chairman of An Taisce South Dublin, said the development is far too dense for the location.

"It is five storeys high for the most part and will dominate the two-storey developments in the area. The facade is close to the road and of an urban design, which . . . could set an unwanted precedent."

Fianna Fáil councillor Maria Corrigan said locals had fought hard to protect the woodland area and feared that the development would cut off the wildlife corridor to deer, badgers and other wildlife.

Dave Morton, owner and director of Lamb Doyle's, said they would be using the apartments to fund the €5.5 million redevelopment of the pub and restaurant.

He added that he had not seen as much as a hedgehog in his car park in 14 years and wildlife corridors were not an issue.