Planning for 402 apartments at former Good Counsel lands upheld after appeals
An artist impression of the former Good Counsel lands in Ballyboden

Planning for 402 apartments at former Good Counsel lands upheld after appeals

Planning permission for 402 apartments on the former Good Counsel lands in Ballyboden has been upheld following appeals.

Permission was granted in 2023 for the new large-scale residential development (LRD) comprising of 402 apartments on the site at Taylors Lane and Edmondstown in Ballyboden.

However, appeals were lodged with An Coimisiún Pleanála in June 2023 by Moyville Residents Association and Ballyboden Tidy Towns against the development.

The existing former institutional buildings and associated outbuildings on the former Good Counsel lands and former pitch and putt course are to be demolished by Lucan-based developer Shannon Homes Dublin Unlimited Company to make way for the three apartment blocks, ranging in height from two-to-five storeys over basement to lower ground floor.

The 402 apartments proposed in the development are made up of 39 one-beds, 302 two-beds and 61 three-beds across the three blocks, along with a creche and two retail units all located within Block A, and an internal residential communal space located in Block C.

The development will also include the provision of a new public park in the north of the site along Taylor’s Lane, plus 290 car parking spaces and 1,054 cycle parking spaces provided at basement/surface level.

Both appeals raised similar concerns to An Coimisiún Pleanála (ACP) over the height and density of the new development, public transport and other infrastructure for Ballyboden, a lack of any town, district or village centre in the area and “a missed opportunity to contribute to the creation of a village centre for Ballyboden”.

The planning authority issued a decision in October 2023 to uphold the council’s initial decision to grant permission, however this was subject to a judicial review.

By order of the High Court in March this year, that decision was quashed and “remitted back to the Board for reconsideration in accordance with law”, after which ACP issued a further information request to both appellants and the developer.

In their decision, published on September 22 this year, ACP said they considered that the proposed development would “make a positive contribution to the delivery of new housing which would be served by an appropriate level of public transport, social and community infrastructure,” and would not result in any “unacceptable” ecological, biodiversity or visual impacts.

They upheld the original decision from South Dublin County Council to grant permission for the development.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme