We have appealed DLRCC’s decision to grant planning permission on the Lisieux development to An Bord Pleanala. Please see below background information about the project and our appeal submission underneath.
Information about the project
The following information about the project is from July 2016, curtesy to www.thetimes.co.uk.
Developer Noel Smyth plans to build 17 houses and 52 apartments in the grounds of his Dublin mansion.
The development at Lisieux Hall, Smyth’s home in Leopardstown, south Dublin, would include two five-storey apartment blocks. Most of the houses, which would be up to 209 sq metres each in size, would be built within a walled garden on the site.
The scheme would cover almost two-thirds of the 1.85 hectare site. Lisieux Hall, a protected building, will continue to be a private home, planning documents show.
Smyth, a solicitor and developer, owns Fitzwilliam Finance Partners, which acquired Arnotts department store in Dublin last year. It sold the store to Selfridges but has kept control of adjacent properties.
Our appeal submission
The Secretary
An Bord Pleanala
64 Marlborough Street
Dublin 2
February 20th, 2017
Ref: Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council (DLRCC) Planning Application D16A/0547 by Ketut Limited for Lisieux Hall, Murphystown Road, Dublin 18
Dear Sir/Madam,
On behalf of the residents of the Gallops estate, Leopardstown, Dublin 18, we would like to appeal the decision by DLRCC to grant planning permission to Ketut Limited on application D16A/0547 on the grounds that:
the development is excessive in height and will have an extremely negative impact on the surrounding residential environment;
the additional traffic in the area will result in a significant increase in congestion and have a detrimental impact on the quality of life of our residents.
Excessive height
The proposed development includes the building of two 5-storey apartment blocks on an elevated site directly opposite the Gallops estate. There are no 5 storey apartment blocks in the local area and the elevation of the site relative to our estate will give the two blocks the same impact as 6-storey blocks.
In section 4.8 of Appendix 9 (Building Height Strategy) to the DLRCC County Development Plan, it states that “a maximum of 3 to 4 storeys may be permitted in appropriate locations” and the proximity of a Luas stop within 500 metres can be used as an upward modifier to justify additional height.
However, there are no 5 storey residential developments in the area. It is dominated by 2 storey semi-detached houses and the elevation of the site in question means that the effective visual impact on the local environment is one of a 6 storey apartment block. We believe that this is an unacceptable height and that it will have a severe negative impact on local residential living conditions through overlooking, overshadowing and excessive bulk and scale.
An impact such as this is identified as the principal downward modifier to building height by DLRCC in the same appendix quoted above and we believe that it should be applied in the case of this development by reducing the height of the apartment blocks to 3 storeys, giving an effective height of 4 storeys when the elevation impact is taken into account.
Traffic
The addition of 69 residential units will add significant car volumes to an area that is already suffering from severe traffic congestion. The Gallops estate is effectively “landlocked” by the Luas and with only 2 exits available for over 700 houses and 2,000 plus residents, trying to leave the estate at peak times in the morning is already extremely difficult.
In addition to the Lisieux development, construction is currently underway on over 700 residential units at Clay Farm, on the Ballyogan Road, just 800 metres away. The addition of car volumes from these 2 developments on to the Ballyogan Road/Murphystown Way route will lead to even greater delays for residents of our estate in trying to exit each morning.
In relation to the Luas itself, which is being used in planning applications to propose higher densities and heights, there are 2 fundamental problems with this proposition when it comes to the impact on traffic congestion: firstly, there appears to be an implicit assumption that everyone gets the Luas to work or school but the reality is very different as the junctions on to the M50 each morning illustrate; and secondly the Luas is already hitting capacity at peak rush hour times so it is very limited in what it can absorb from the additional developments. This will force more people back into their cars.
To help alleviate this problem in some way, we would therefore suggest that traffic from this development should be forced to enter and exit on to the less congested Kilgobbin Road instead of Murphystown Way. This could be done by moving the barrier at the top of the closed off Murphystown Road down to the other side of the proposed entrance to the Lisieux development. In this way, Murphystown Road would still remain closed off to traffic, however it would mean that traffic would be more evenly distributed in the local area.
Thank you for reviewing our appeal.
Yours faithfully
Kevin Windle
Chairman
Gallops Residents Association
c/o 11 Glencairn View
Leopardstown
Dublin 18
The Gallops Estate 