Proposed development at former Des Kelly showrooms on North Circular Road

A summary of the planning application for the site at the former Des Kelly showrooms on North Circular Road can be found below. Planning permission for this application was refused on 25th Jan 2022.

[Update 16-Jun-2022] - New application

A new application has been submitted details of which can be found here.

[Update 25-Jan-2022] - Application refused

Dublin City Council has confirmed that planning permission has been refused.

Grounds for refusal:

• Overall scale will be visually intrusive and overbearing. The excessive height and architectural quality together with the materials/windows will likely impact adversely on the character of the surrounding Phibsborough Architectural Conservation Area.
• Daylight/sunlight on adjoining properties.
• The development proposes residential accommodation which is considered to be sub-standard.

Mixed Development

The development comprises:

• Café - 37 sqm at the Royal Canal Bank level
• Retail - 1,925 sqm essentially all of ground floor at the North Circular Rd level
• Residential - 7,831 sqm

Unit types

Current mix of the 96 residential units is:

• 23 studio units
• 25 one bedroom units
• 47 two bedroom units
• 1 three bedroom unit

Social Housing

Under Part V the development will set aside 10 units (2 studios, 3 one bedroom units, and 5 two bedroom units) for social housing. No deatils have been provided on how much Dublin City Council will pay for these units.

Height

The development comprises a lower ground floor, ground floor and and additional 11 storeys above the ground floor.

Depending on where you measure from (i.e. NCR or Royal Canal Bank) the main tower is between 41m and 44m.

Zoning

The site is zoned as “District Centres – Zone Z4” which intends to provide for and improve mixed-services facilities.

Plot ratio and site coverage

• Plot Ratio - 3.8 (amount of floorspace in relation to the site area). The indicative Plot Ratio in the current development plan for Z4 zoned land is 2. The development plan outlines circumstances where a higher plot ratio is allowed.
• Site Coverage - 98% (the percentage of the site covered by building structures). The indicative Site Coverage in the current development plan for Z4 zoned land is 80%. The development plan outlines circumstances where a higher Site Coverage is allowed.

Parking

The development will provide

• 17 car spaces for the retail element
• 21 car spaces for the residential element
• 210 cycle parking spaces

Entry will be from Phibsborough Road and exit will be onto Royal Canal Bank

Full plans

Full plans for the development can be found here. The last day for observations on this application is Thursday, 23rd of December.

Getting in touch

Please get in contact with me at neasa.hourigan@oireachtas.ie if there are any queries in relation to this matter.