Rathcoole centre of excellence for horse sports gets thumbs up

PLANS to create a horse sport centre of excellence in Rathcoole have got the go-ahead with South Dublin County Council granting permission for the development.

Horse Sport Ireland announced plans for a new administrative headquarters and equestrian campus in Greenogue earlier this year.

Following that, in March, it submitted plans to create a “centre of excellence” at the existing Greenogue Equestrian Centre.

Plans submitted to the planning authority are seeking additional facilities to previously permitted plans which include a new 375 sq m indoor sand area.

Extensions to the main outdoor jumping sand area by 800 sq  m, taking it up to a total of 4,000 sq m, as well as the existing indoor sand area by 250 sq  m (resulting in a total of 1,625 sq m) are also included in the plans.

The construction of a two-storey training and administration facility, veterinary shed, hay shed and a two-storey building to accommodate visitor toilets, lockers and storage were included in the application.

A single-storey laboratory for an assisted reproduction programme makes up part of the proposals which were given the thumbs-up by the council last week.

In the decision to grant permission, the council listed out 16 conditions that the applicant must implement into their development.

The developer is required to pay a financial contribution of €250,096.95 to the planning authority as one of the conditions for granting planning permission.

While the plans are to provide 50 car-parking spaces, one of the conditions requests that five per cent of spaces be provided for mobility-impaired users and 10 per cent for electrical charging points.

The 20 bicycle spaces are also required to be covered as a condition with the applicant also asked to incorporate a “native woodland” into the plans.

While the vehicular access point onto Newcastle Road will be omitted, with the access point via Tay Lane to be the only one into the site.

Landscape and green infrastructure amendments, a revised arboricultural report and tree survey, revised SUDS proposals and constraints around the specificity of the stone area next to the reproduction building are also outlined in the conditions.

South Dublin County Council granted permission for this proposed development on August 23, 2021.