RESIDENTS of Milltown in south Dublin, and the developers of a major housing scheme proposed for former convent land in the area are equally surprised by a Bord Pleanala decision refusing permission for the development.
Following a two-day public inquiry in February, both sides expected that the probable outcome would be approval for a somewhat scaled-down scheme for the 12-acre Mount St Anne's site. Nobody anticipated an outright refusal from the planning appeals board.
Park Developments Ltd sought permission to build 300 apartments and 158 houses on the 12-acre site, formerly owned by the Sisters of Charity. This was granted by Dublin Corporation, despite a unanimous recommendation by the City Council's planning committee.
However, An Bord Pleanala has overturned this decision, saying that the layout and density of the scheme and particularly the height of a number of blocks would he "visually obtrusive", resulting in "serious overlooking" of houses in the vicinity.
One of the appellants, Mr Gerard Cavanagh, said local residents were both "surprised and delighted" by the decision, which had confirmed that the City Council's planning committee was "absolutely right" when it recommended a planning refusal.
"Fair play to An Bord Pleanala - it shows that the system can work," he said. However, he accepted that the residents had only won the first round and that the developers would be back.
One of the major points made by the residents in their appeal was that Mount St Anne's was the last major piece of green space between Ranelagh and the River Dodder and that such institutional land in the area was "falling like dominoes" to new housing.
But Mr Fergal McCabe, planning consultant to the developers, said the proposed scheme had architectural merit and it was "distressing to see this being dumped on while much less worthy schemes... get through".
He said the Bord Pleanala inspector, Mr Michael Walsh, had dealt with the issues in considerable detail in his 131-page report to the board and had found that the proposed density - at 28 units per acre - was "excessively high" for the area.
Although Mr Walsh accepted that available lands relatively close to the city centre should be developed to a reasonable density, "particularly where a new high-quality transport system - the Luas light rail line - is proposed, but he said there had to be a limit.
"Part of the attractiveness of this site for development is its location in a residential area with a high environmental quality," he wrote. To permit a scheme which would have adverse impacts on surrounding property was hardly consistent with sustainable development.
Mr McCabe said the inspector's view "begs the question about what support there will be for Luas if the density on which it is based, of between 20 and 32 housing units per acre, are unrealisable".
