Developer lodges an appeal against council’s refusal for 131-bed care facility in Cookstown

A DEVELOPER has lodged an appeal against South Dublin County Council’s decision to refuse planning permission for a 131-bed transitional care facility on First Avenue in Cookstown.

The proposal includes the demolition of an industrial unit and a small café to make way for the care facility.

The plans were submitted by Bartra, who in 2021 unsuccessfully appealed South Dublin County Council’s decision to refuse permission for a nursing home and apartment blocks at the same site.

In the developer’s most recent planning application, permission was sought for the demolition of all existing one- to three-storey industrial/commercial structures and a small cafe at Unit 21.

This was to facilitate the proposed development of a one- to five-storey transitional care facility (step-up/step-down) providing 131 bed spaces over partial basement with a central courtyard.

Provision of dining and kitchen areas, siting/family rooms, activity rooms, a coffee dock, a hair salon, an oratory, lobbies/reception areas, ancillary offices and staff areas, was included.

Partial provision of a pocket park previously identified in the Tallaght Local Area Plan was included in the proposal.

Vehicular access was to be provided from First Avenue and egress onto Cookstown Road via a one-way system through the subject site.

Other proposed works included internal road and footpaths, interim pedestrian facilities/public realm upgrade works, landscape and boundary treatment works, and tree removal.

On May 23 last, South Dublin County Council refused permission for the proposal for a number of reasons.

The grounds for refusal included the developer’s plans for temporary pedestrian and cyclist upgrades from the subject site to the Belgard Luas stop.

“The planning authority is very clear that temporary/interim works are not acceptable,” stated the council.

It noted that the site was surrounded by primarily commercial and industrial facilities and would be “physically isolated from compatible uses” including public transport networks.

“[It] would constitute a poor standard of amenity for prospective occupants and would give rise to uses which are disconnected from public transport and from the wider area,” said the council.

The ‘Green Space Factor Score’ for the site was also below the required amount needed for the zoning of the site, and the proposal exceeded the height and plot ratio of provisions of the Tallaght Town Centre Local Area Plan.

However, Bartra submitted an appeal to An Bord Pleanála in late June against the council’s decision.

The developer stated that the council’s reasons for refusal did not constitute “a material reason for refusal” and added that its proposal “contributes towards the deliverance of a number of national, regional and local policy objectives”.

A decision on the appeal has not yet been made by An Bord Pleanála.

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