64-unit apartments refused permission in Cookstown
By Aideen O'Flaherty
PLANS for the development of a 64-unit, five- to six-storey apartment building on the Cookstown Road in Cookstown Industrial Estate have been refused permission by South Dublin County Council.
Developer Alanna Homes Limited lodged a planning application for the proposed development last March, seeking permission for the demolition of the existing warehouse unit, Unit 73, to make way for the development.
Unit 73 at Cookstown Industrial Estate
The unit is adjacent to the Breeo Foods unit, Unit 74, which was damaged in a fire last year and, in an unrelated planning application, the council granted permission for the demolition of the damaged unit.
The proposal for Unit 73 included the development of 20 one-bed apartments, 16 two-bed apartments, eight three-bed apartments, 20 two-bed duplex apartments, and one unit at ground floor level to be either retail or a café.
The proposed development also provided for a podium and an undercroft car parking area, at ground floor level, accommodating 37 car parking spaces, 167 bicycle parking spaces, bin storage, a plant room and two ESB substations.
The local authority refused permission for the plans last month, on a number of grounds.
These grounds included the council’s concerns that the development’s plot ratio “is more than twice that sought in the Local Area Plan for this portion of Cookstown”.
The council also stated that the provision of eight three-bedroom apartments, out of a total of 64 apartments, “materially contravenes” a Local Area Plan objective which requires a minimum of 30 per cent of three-bedroom units in residential schemes.
However, Cookstown is set to be a hub of residential development, after a number of planning applications have received planning permission, while other Strategic Housing Developments in the area are currently being considered by An Bord Pleanála.
Developments which have received planning permission include the construction of 252 build-to-rent apartments at 66 and 67 Fourth Avenue, and a 196-unit residential development at Units 5A-C on Second Avenue.
Plans for the development of 1,104 apartments on lands to the west of Old Belgard Road and north, south and west of Cookstown Road, were lodged with An Bord Pleanála in March, and plans for the development of 170 build-to-rent apartments at the Glen Abbey Complex were lodged last month.
The proposed Old Belgard Road and Glen Abbey developments are currently under consideration by An Bord Pleanála.
By subscribing to The Echo you are supporting your local newspaper Click Here: Echo Online.
