Plans for two independent living blocks and 106 en-suite bedrooms were approved for the Priory grounds
Community Council will not appeal the grant of planning
LOCAL voluntary group Tallaght Community Council (TCC) has announced that it will not appeal the grant of planning permission for a nursing home in the grounds of St Mary’s Priory.
As reported in The Echo last month, South Dublin County Council granted planning permission to St Mary’s Medical (Tallaght) Ltd for the development.
The approved development includes two ‘independent living’ blocks and a four-storey nursing home comprising 106 en-suite bedrooms with associated residents’ facilities and staff areas.
This marked the second time the applicant had applied for a nursing home at the site, after their first planning application was refused planning permission and was objected to by TCC in 2021.
The second application showed a reduction in the scale and height of the project, while the grant of planning permission includes conditions such as the omission of one of the independent living blocks.
Throughout the process, committee members from TCC kept a close eye on developments but added that they will not object to the latest form of the development going ahead.
Peter Forde, a voluntary planning officer for TCC, said: “We are still uneasy about some aspects of this development.
“When comparing the 2021 application to that approved scheme in 2022, it does represent a more appropriate proposal for the village [that] we feel justifies our objections.”
The group’s objections included concerns that it would set “a poor precedent” for developments in the area, that the building lengths are “excessive and monolithic” compared to surrounding buildings, and that measures to reduce car parking provision were “not credible”.
“They delivered a much-improved design,” said Mr Forde when commenting on the approved planning application.
“We will remain vigilant on the implementation of the planning conditions attached to this case.
“We will remain vigilant for any attempts to vary or modify any aspects of this development into the future.
“For now, we have decided not to appeal the council’s decision.”
As reported in The Echo in September 2020, some of the lands adjoining the Priory – including what will now be the site of the nursing home – went on the market with a guide price of €5m.
Owned by the Dominican Fathers before the sale, the 2.46-acre pocket of land backs onto the TU Dublin – Tallaght campus on the Old Greenhills Road side of Tallaght Village, and was sold as a ‘prime residential development site’.
