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PRESS
RELEASE
26
October 2005
Green
Party Calls for Halt for Cherrywood High Rise until Local Plan
Prepared
The
Green Party has called on Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to
publish a Local Area Plan for Cherrywood close to Loughlinstown in
South Dublin. The call
comes as Bord Pleanála considers
a proposal for a fifteen-storey ‘gateway’ building at the
Cherrywood Science & Technology Park.
The
Green Party has made an observation to the Board, arguing that the
proposal for the skyscraper is premature prior to the approval of a
Local Area Plan for the area.
Local
Green Party TD Ciarán Cuffe stated:
“It
is now eighteen months since the Council requested public
submissions prior to the preparation of a Masterplan for the area.
In that time the Council has failed to produce a draft plan for the
area. It is putting the cart before the horse to consider building
proposals before a more general plan is published for the area. Lets
get the overall plan right before we start considering individual
Planning Applications for major development.
“In
the Green Party’s submission we stated that the area should be the
subject of a design competition. This could help ensure that a high
level of design guidance is brought to bear on the development of
the area. It could also help to ensure that a public debate takes
place on the area’s development. In addition we stated that: “A
vision of the area as a bustling well-designed, mixed-use town
should inform the Plan. This area should be socially mixed and
should contain a mixture of uses and activities within each quarter
of the town.”
Local
Green Party Councillor Tom Kivlehan said:
“The
initial Application was for a ten-story building. Further
Information submitted by the Applicant dramatically changed the
application to include a fifteen-story tower. Such a dramatic and
fundamental change should be the subject of a separate Application,
given the significance of the changes in what is being proposed.
Local people want to have their say on the plans.
ENDS
NOTE
1
Photo
shows Cllr. Tom Kivlehan (Left) and Ciarán Cuffe TD (Right) on
Wyattville Road, with the site of the proposed high-rise building
behind them.
Note
2
Text
of letter to An Bord Pleanála follows:
The
Secretary
An
Bord Pleanála
64
Marlborough Street
Dublin
1
18
October 2005
Board
Reference: 06D214143
Decision
of Dún Laoghaire - Rathdown County Council to grant permission for
D04A/0924 on 16-Sep-2005
Location:
Cherrywood Science & Technology Park, Loughlinstown, Co. Dublin
Development:
For a gateway building with a mix of uses comprising a total floor
area 7,666 sq. m of commercial/office space connected to existing
permitted development block AC (reg. ref. D03A/0626), which includes
1no. bar/lounge of 836 sq. m on ground and first floor level and 1
no. Cafe/restaurant of 265 sq. m on ground floor level and
associated frontage and signage all in a six storey over basement
building with a setback on the sixth floor and rising to 10 floors
at the eastern end, connected to permitted block AC with four
storeys with a set back on the fourth floor and with pedestrian
street entrances directly to the footpath on the Wyattville Link
Road, 34 no. basement car parking spaces, comprising 1,420 sq. m
with vehicular access, and 2 no. ESB sub-stations and all ancillary
works on a site of 0.195 ha.
Dear
Madam / Sir,
On
behalf of the Green Party we wish to make the following submission.
1.
We request that the application be refused, as it is premature
pending the adoption of a Local Area Plan for the area.
In
the spring of 2004 the Planning Authority invited submissions prior
to the preparation of Local Area Plan for the Cherrywood-Rathmichael
area. We made a
submission
on 25th May
2004. A copy of that submission is enclosed. That submission was
made in good faith on the presumption that a Local Area Plan would
be adopted for the area prior to any significant development in the
area. It would make a mockery of the planning process for the Board
to grant permission for a fifteen-story tower block in advance of
the preparation of a Local Area Plan. Although the making of a Local
Area Plan is not mandatory under Section 19 of the Act it would be
ludicrous not to adopt such a plan for this area, which is likely to
be subject to large-scale development.
At
the date of writing the Local Area Plan has not been approved, nor
has a draft of such a plan been made available to the public for
comment.
2.
The initial Application was for a ten-story building. Further
Information dramatically changed the application to include a
fifteen-story tower. Such a dramatic and fundamental change should
be the subject of a separate Application, given the significance of
the changes in what is being proposed.
3.
It should be noted that Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council have
rejected a number of large-scale-development applications lodged
with them on the basis that they were premature, pending the
agreement on a Local Area Plan. Were the Authority to approve the
current application in advance of a Local Area Plan being produced
it would set a precedent for other large-scale-developments
proceeding prior to a Local Area Plan being approved or even debated
in public.
4.
The initial application did not include a residential element. The
subsequent inclusion of a residential element makes adherence to
good planning principles even more important: The inclusion of a
residential element in this application makes the need for a Local
Area Plan vitally important.
5.
In our submission to the Council regarding the preparation of a
Local Area Plan we stated:
“The
Plan should be the subject of a design competition. This could help
ensure that a high level of design guidance is brought to bear on
the development of the area. It could also help to ensure that a
public debate takes place on the area’s development.”
In
addition we stated that:
“A
vision of the area as a bustling well-designed, mixed-use town
should inform the Plan. This area should be socially mixed and
should contain a mixture of uses and activities within each quarter
of the town.”
We
are concerned that there appears to be a significant divergence
between the applicants ‘urban design’ vision and the Local
Authorities dated “roads based” approach. On the one hand the
Applicant envisages that the Wyattville Road extension be an “Urban
Street” but the Planning Authority has insisted by way of
condition that it be a clearway.
In
addition the Planning Authority has conditioned out of the
development one of the few uses that would have strongly contributed
towards this developing area’s integration with the surrounding
neighbourhood, namely the proposal for café use at the base of the
tower building.
If
the Planning Authority believes that the main road running through
the heart of a new town is to be a clearway rather than a boulevard
or a street, it is simply repeating the kind of difficulties that
bedevil the development of other new towns such as Tallaght.
In
conclusion, it is crucial that a Local Area Plan be prepared prior
to the granting of permission for development on this key site. The
alternative is to base decisions on a County Development Plan that
consists of little more than pink, red and yellow zoning blotches on
a 1.5000 map, with an aspirational green disc of amenity land to the
north of the town centre. On this map, dotted black road
reservations bisect the entire area. A written statement of uncosted
aspirations backs it up. If this is planning, we should all hang our
heads in shame.
We
request that the application be refused.
We
enclose a cheque of €50 for the charge relating to this
observation. We request that compensation equating to this fee be
paid to us, as provided for under Section 145 (1) (a) (i) Local
Government (Planning and Development) Act 2000 as we believe that
this observation is made for the common good.
Sincerely
Ciarán
Cuffe TD, MIPI
Tom Kivlehan, MCC
Encl.
Page last updated 26 October 2005
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