328 apartments approved for Airton Road
By Aideen O'Flaherty
PERMISSION has been granted for the development of 328 apartments at the corner of Airton Road and Belgard Road in Tallaght, despite South Dublin County Council previously stating that aspects of the development “materially contravene” local area plans.
Power Scaffolding Supplies Limited lodged a fast-track planning application with An Bord Pleanála last October, seeking permission for the construction of two apartment blocks to house a total of 328 apartments, with the overall development to be called Airton Plaza.
An artist’s impression of the apartments approved at the junction of Belgard Road and Airton Road
Permission was also sought for the development of a café/restaurant, a crèche, an internal residents’ amenity area, a residents lounge, a private dining area, a co-working space, a games room, a gym and a communal lounge.
Provision for a landscaped courtyard, a public plaza at the corner of Airton and Belgard Road, pedestrian access from Airton Road to TU Dublin-Tallaght Campus, 184 car-parking spaces, ten disabled parking spaces, four crèche parking spaces and 727 bicycle-parking spaces are included.
Last December, the council lodged a report on the planned development, where they stated that aspects of it “materially contravene the South Dublin County Council Development Plan 2016-2022 and the Tallaght Draft Local Area Plan 2020-2026.”
Chiefly, they said the development would contravene these area plans as a result of the building height, density and “the lack of setback from Airton Road to facilitate a linear park”, as plans for a linear park at that location form part of the Tallaght Draft LAP 2020-2026.
In their report, the local authority added that there were “some major modifications the planning authority would be seeking for this scheme”, including the recommendation that the existing setback of 15 metres from the “red line boundary of the subject site” should be maintained.
An artist’s impression
They also recommended that the single-aspect north-facing units in the development should be omitted from the scheme as they are “not acceptable” to the planning authority.
An Bord Pleanála granted permission for the development last month, with a number of conditions.
These conditions include provision for 14 of the development’s car parking spaces to be reserved for communal car-sharing use only, and that the developer has to submit revised drawings indicating the gated access point at the north-west corner of the site serving as the pedestrian link to TU Dublin-Tallaght Campus.
The developer also to secure a written agreement from the landowners of the college confirming that the developer can construct a pedestrian link to their lands.
