Permission refused for four houses on Knocklyon site

CONTENTIOUS plans for the construction of four houses in Knocklyon have been refused planning permission by South Dublin County Council.

The council stated that the “proposed residential accommodation is considered substandard in relation to private amenity space” and it is subject to a deed denoting it as public open space.

Applicant Pathway Homes Limited sought permission for the development of four five-bedroom, two-and-a-half-storey semi-detached houses on Knocklyon Road.

Provision of private open space, site landscaping, connection to existing services as well as the provision of vehicular access from Knocklyon Road formed part of the application.

A total of 17 third-party submissions were lodged objecting to the proposal, where a number of issues were raised.

These issues include the current status of the subject site as a public open space, the potential impact it could have on residential amenity, and access and parking concerns.

On January 30, South Dublin County Council decided to refuse permission for the development on several grounds.

These grounds included the fact that the subject site is subject to a Deed of Dedication of public open space.

“The intention of the Deed of Dedication is to commit this area to the public for use as public space and for the council to utilise and maintain the land in the interest of the public,” stated the council.

“The subject land has a longstanding history of use as public open space and it is considered that the proposed development, if permitted, would result in a loss of an existing high quality amenity space.”

The proposed development would also materially contravene a condition attached to the planning permission for the existing Knocklyon Woods housing estate.

This condition identifies five areas within the development to be utilised as ‘play space’, one of which pertains to the subject lands.

Permission was also refused on the grounds that the “under-provision of usable and good quality private amenity space” for the proposed houses “would suggest the proposal would be an overdevelopment of the site”.