A shot of the site at Cherryfield Halting site
Plans to rezone 15 sites for housing
South Dublin County Council will begin a public consultation process for 15 sites they seek to rezone as residential to meet housing needs in the county.
The proposal also requires a variation to the South Dublin County Development Plan 2022-28 to address the new requirements sent out by the government in 2025, facilitate short/medium-term housing delivery and “to strategically prepare for the housing delivery for the county to 2040 and beyond”.
The 15 sites that will be included in the public consultation make up a total potential of 157.5 hectares of new residential lands and could provide up to 7,453 new units of housing, according to a presentation to councillors on February 4.
A number of sites, as well as being rezoned for residential use, will also be utilised for social infrastructure such as parks and for transport infrastructure such as the proposed DART+ South West and Active Travel links.
The largest site proposed is 10.16ha of retail zoned land to the south-east of Liffey Valley Shopping Centre, which the council seek to keep zoned as an MRC (Major Retail Centre) but with changes to its “permissible uses” to allow up to 1,500 new residential units and other amenities.
Finnstown Castle, home to a former hotel and golf course, a section of the St Edmunsbury hospital grounds, and the former Citywest golf course are three major sites with the potential for 1,000, 756 and 625 new homes respectively and will be subject to “masterplan-led development”.
These three sites are already subject to considerable opposition from local groups and councillors with concerns about over-development and added stress on existing amenities in Lucan and Saggart.
The lands at Coldcut which was agreed to be sold by Dublin Bus Services Social Club
Another site projected to deliver up to 1,000 homes is 24.27ha of agricultural lands extending to the west from Adamstown Strategic Development Zone, which will be utilised for proposed DART+ South West works and potential to provide for “future infrastructure and connections to south and west” of the SDZ.
More “underutilised” sites located around the SDZ include Stonewall, a 5.32ha site “already developed under emergency powers for existing modular residential accommodation”, which could provide a potential permanent 132 units, and Tubber Lane North, which will also include delivery of the new Tobermaclugg Park for Adamstown.
Ballynakelly, a mostly “brownfield site with unfinished development” on the edge of Newcastle village is one of the larger sites proposed at 24.48ha, but around 10.2ha will be utilised for open space, as well as a specifically allocated school site.
Significant portions Dublin Bus lands at Coldcut will remain as open space if it is rezoned as residential, with “improved public access, permeability and recreational facilities… provided on the remaining OS zoned lands (existing sports and pitch and putt course)”.
Two other sites with the potential to unlock around 1,000 new residential units between them are 8.4ha of former agricultural land off Kiltipper Road and a 13.23ha site off Edmondstown Road, which would both be rezoned from rural (RU) to residential, with specific objectives such as protecting “historic hedgerows” and traffic and transport upgrades.
Three smaller sites that are proposed to provide less than 100 units each are Retail Warehouse zoned land around The Foxhunter pub in Lucan, land adjoining the Cherryfield halting site and GAA pitch off the Firhouse Road, and a and Open Space site on Ninth Lock Road adjoining the Clonburris SDZ.
A number of other sites, including Newlands Farm and Grange Castle golf course, which were proposed previously for rezoning, will be subject to “further detailed analysis to inform a future rezoning proposal” under the next county development plan in 2029.
South Dublin County Council have proposed a 14-week statutory timeline for the variation of County Development Plan needed to rezone the 15 proposed sites.
A four-week public consultation period for display and public submissions is due to run from mid-February to mid-March, with two Public Consultation events on Wednesday, February 25 in Tallaght County Hall and on Wednesday, March 4 in Lucan Library.
Four weeks will be allocated from mid-March to mid-April for preparation of the chief executive’s report and recommendation, followed by approximately six weeks for councillors to consider these.
A special meeting will then be held by the end of May for councillors to vote to “make the variation, refuse to make the variation, or make the variation with modifications”.
Any variation, once made, will take immediate effect to the County Development Plan.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
