Development of 488 apts in fast-track planning lane
By Mary Dennehy
A STRATEGIC housing development for 488 apartments, a retail unit and crèche is at pre-application consultation stage with An Bord Pleanála and South Dublin County Council.
The prospective applicant Greenacre Residential DAC can bring the proposed development straight to An Bord Pleanála (ABP) due to new fast-track legislation introduced last year in response to the housing crisis.
There are huge developments planned for the Citywest area
The new law applies to strategic housing developments, which are large-scale developments of 100 housing units or more, or student accommodation of 200 beds or more.
However, before an application can be submitted, the prospective applicant must engage in a mandatory pre-application consultation stage with ABP and the relevant local authority, in this case South Dublin County Council.
The 488 apartments application on Fortunestown Lane is currently at this stage, which takes nine weeks to complete.
After the nine weeks, ABP will “form an opinion” on whether the documents submitted constitute a reasonable basis for an application or if further consideration or amendment is required.
If an application is submitted after the pre-application consultation stage, the normal process kicks in with newspaper and site notices being placed.
As part of the new fast-track legislation, a dedicated website detailing the proposed development must also go live when an application is submitted.
ABP has 16 weeks to make a decision once an application is received, which includes a public consultation stage and the submission of a report by the local planning authority.
In April of last year, Greenacre Residential – a joint venture between NAMA and Harcourt Developments – was granted permission for 526 residential units at Fortunestown Lane and Garter Lane in Saggart.
The permission was granted, with conditions, by ABP through the new fast-track planning facility. The development will consist of 459 houses and 67 apartments at a site adjacent to the Red Line Luas.
