Planning permission extended on 225-room hotel in Newcastle
By Maurice Garvey
PLANS for the development of a, at present, partially constructed 225-room hotel in Ballynakelly and Rathcreedan in Newcastle have received an extension of the duration of planning permission by South Dublin County Council.
Developers Johny and Katy Janssens of Lamberton Properties Ltd previously secured planning permission for the hotel development in 2007, and successfully applied for an extension for the duration of planning permission in 2012.
An aerial view of the site in Newcastle which includes a nursing home and retirement village
In their latest application they are again seeking an extension of permission for the hotel development, with provision for their previously permitted revisions to the granted planning permission to include a retirement village development and nursing home in the grounds of the hotel.
The retirement village and nursing homes plans were submitted to the council in 2014, who then refused permission for the development, however the developers successfully appealed the council’s decision and An Bord Pleanála granted permission for the revisions.
The retirement village is to consist of 69 individual three-bedroom, single-storey retirement homes, ranging in size from 112sq.m. to 164.1sq.m, a single-storey medical/health centre (146.7sq.m), and a two-storey community services centre (844.3sq.m).
Provision for an outdoor recreation and allotment area, with an associated recreation equipment store and allotment equipment store, is included in the application.
The plans include a change of use of the part of the permitted hotel’s accommodation block, to facilitate the development of a nursing home/care centre, comprising 60 nursing home/care centre bedrooms with associated dining, healthcare and administration facilities.
Change of use of 302sq.m. at basement level car parking to instead house a nursing home/care centre mortuary is also included.
The extension of planning permission concerns the permitted development of a hotel at the subject site, to contain 255 bedrooms in a new landmark building consisting of sub-basement and basement, ground floor and five upper floors.
Provision of 680 underground car parking spaces, five coach spaces, 50 bicycle spaces, and a new 9m-wide vehicular, cycleway and pedestrian access approximately 900m in length from a new roundabout on the Newcastle Road (R120) in vicinity of Newcastle Manor housing estate is included.
As a result of the revisions to their planning application, there will instead be 666 underground car parking spaces, 204 surface car spaces, five surface coach spaces, one surface ambulance space and 50 bicycle spaces.
Permission was granted for the extension of planning permission for the development, which will expire in March 2025, however the developer stated in their application they were only seeking an extension of permission for the hotel portion of their plans, and not the nursing home and retirement village plans.
According to their application, the developers stated that they plan for the hotel development to be complete by September 2024.
When asked in the application to detail the circumstances by which they weren’t able to complete the development in the permitted five-year time frame after previously being granted planning permission, they stated it was a result of the economic downturn.
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