Residents lodge appeal over homeless hostel development

THE Kiltipper Kiltalown Residents’ Association has lodged an appeal against the council’s decision to declare the change of use of a house in Kiltipper into a homeless hostel as an exempted development.

The subject property, owned by the Peter McVerry Trust, is called The Priory – not to be confused with the church in Tallaght village – and is located just off the Kiltipper Road.

South Dublin County Council declared the change of use as an exempted development under Section 5 of the Planning and Development Act which means planning permission is not required.

However, the local residents’ association has objected to this decision, stating that the change of use should not be considered an exempted development.

Their grounds for appeal include the view that 15 people can be accommodated in the hostel and this “significantly exceeds the maximum number of people” who can be housed in the property under exempted development legislation.

The residents’ association stated that the change of use from a residential dwelling into a homeless hostel should not be considered an exempted development.

A decision on the appeal has not yet been made by An Bord Pleanála.

The Priory has been in operation as a homeless hostel for several years, according to the residents’ association.

The Peter McVerry Trust lodged a planning application last year to knock down one of their properties in Kiltipper, called Leabeg, and to develop ten dwellings in its place.

The Priory was unaffected by this application, but local residents who lodged objections against the plans said it was “misleading” that The Priory wasn’t denoted as a hostel in the planning application.

South Dublin County Council granted permission for the development at Leabeg last year.