Tallaght developments met with mixed reactions
By Aideen O'Flaherty
THE potential for apartment development in Tallaght has been met with a mixed response by members of the community, following the purchase of a 16-acre site on Belgard Road by a property group, and a separate planning permission application for the development of 126 apartments in Cookstown.
The two potential developments, which are not linked, could see over 1,000 new apartments being constructed in Tallaght if planning permission is granted.
The Belgard Road site, which previously housed warehouse units for Cuisine de France, Uniphar and Kerry Group, was acquired by Marlet Property Group for a reported €16m this month with the development potential for up to 1,500 apartments.
Elsewhere, Prymount Property Development Limited has lodged an application for planning permission for the development of 126 apartments in Cookstown, which has attracted objections from four different community groups.
Tallaght Central Sinn Féin Councillor Brendan Ferron told The Echo: “With the news coming out about the rent increases across Dublin, there is clearly a supply issue.
“The government needs to be building more social housing units, the private sector alone won’t help the housing crisis.
“There’s a huge shortfall of available housing in Tallaght, and the fact that companies like Marlet are buying sites here shows there’s a demand for housing.”
In relation to the proposed development in Cookstown, Tallaght Community Council was one of the community groups that lodged an objection to the application on a number of grounds, including concerns about height, a lack of mixed residential units and having residential units above retail units.
Tara De Buitléar, PRO of TCC, said: “While we have a very serious housing shortage, we need to see a mix of housing types in the market.
“There has to be houses, duplexes and bungalows.
“There are people looking for houses to buy, and currently they would have no option to buy in Tallaght town centre.”
In respect of the Belgard Road site, Ms De Buitléar commented: “There were three successful businesses on that site and they moved to expand.
“All those jobs were lost and not replaced.
“If we’re not using the land in the centre for employment you could argue that the pendulum has swung too far in one direction.”
Meanwhile, hundreds of new students will be embarking on their first year in college in the nearby IT Tallaght campus next month.
When asked if the IT students have been affected by the housing shortage, and if they feel the development of more residential units in Tallaght might benefit the students, the Students’ Union welfare officer Isabelle Delaney Jones explained that the IT students typically don’t face difficulties in securing accommodation.
“IT Tallaght doesn’t have on-campus accommodation, so students usually stay in digs with host families.
“We don’t have a major crisis with securing housing like other colleges, because a lot of the people who come to IT Tallaght are from Dublin.”
Ms Delaney Jones added that the IT has an effective system in place to help students secure accommodation through a secretary who works in the college.
Bancroft resident Aidan Thomas, who has lived in Tallaght for 50 years, has voiced his concerns in relation to a possible concentration of social housing in Tallaght.
“To date most high-rise developments in Tallaght have been for social housing.
“From previous experience such large developments create social disadvantage with many consequences.
“I object to the concentration of social housing, I’m a firm believer in integration.
“All communities should accommodate at least 10 per cent of social housing, be it Templeogue, Foxrock or Rathfarnham.”
