Large-scale Residential Development at former Leydens site on Richmond Road

At the start of March a Large-scale Residential Development application was made to Dublin City Council for the development of 133 apartment units, artist studios, a crèche, a retail unit, and a gym at the former Leydens Wholesalers & Distributors site on Richmond Road. Last day for observations is Tuesday 4th April 2023.

Updates

[25-April-2023] Dublin City Council has granted permission for the development. A number of conditions are attached the most material of which is the block sizes

• Block A: applied for 4 storeys, granted 4 storeys
• Block B: applied for 10 storeys, granted 8 storeys
• Block C: applied for 9 storeys, granted 7 storeys

These changes and other stepping of the blocks means the development will now be a 107 unit development of 55 one bedroom units and 52 two bedroom units.

What is a Large-scale Residential Development (LRD)

Large-scale Residential Development is the process that replaces the Strategic Housing Development (SHD) process. It is similar to the SHD process in that it deals with applications for 100 or more houses or 200 or more student accommodation bed spaces.

A key difference however is that Large-scale Residential Development applications are made directly to the local authority (Dublin City Council in this case). Strategic Housing Development applications were made to An Bord Pleanála.

Unix Mix

The development will comprise

• 65 one bed apartments
• 68 two bed apartments

According to the applicant

• all 65 of the one bed apartments are suitable for two people
• 9 of the two bed apartments are suitable for three people
• the remaining 59 of the two bed apartments are suitable for four people

Height

• Block A: 4 storeys, 15.9m
• Block B: 10 storeys, 35.1m
• Block C: 9 storeys, 32m

Part V Social Housing

Dublin City Council’s preferred option is to acquire units on site to fulfil the Part V Social Housing obligation. The Part V Social Housing comprises:

• One Bed - 17 units
• Two bed - 10 units

27 in total which is approximately 20% of the total units on the site.

All of the 16 units in block A will be social housing units. 11 of the units in block B will be social housing units (all on the first and second floor).

Transport

25 car parking spaces broken down as follows:

• 24 for residents (3 share spaces, 2 mobility impaired spaces and 13 electric vehicle spaces.)
• 1 for the crèche

424 bicycle spaces broken down as follows:

• 336 long-stay bicycle parking spaces
• 88 short stay bicycle parking spaces

This includes 2 cargo bike spaces

Improvement works to Richmond Road are also proposed including the addition of a 1.5 metre wide one-way cycle lane in both directions and the widening of the footpaths. These changes will be limited to the section of Richmond Road outside the development.

Community spaces

The applicant has identified the following community spaces

• Public Open Space - the development meets the 10% public open space requirement via two plazas
• 35 space crèche
• artists' studios
• retail space and gym

Zoning

The site is zoned as “Z10: Inner Suburban and Inner City Sustainable Mixed-Uses” which intends “to consolidate and facilitate the development of inner city and inner suburban sites for mixed-uses.”.

A more detailed description of the zoning can be found in the Land-use Zoning chapter of the Dublin City Development Plan.

Plot ratio and site coverage

• Plot Ratio - 2.65 (amount of floorspace in relation to the site area). The indicative Plot Ratio in the current development plan for this area is 1.0-2.5
• Site Coverage - 73% (the percentage of the site covered by building structures). The indicative Site Coverage in the current development plan for this area is 45-60% .

Two applications side by side

This area is being developed under two separate applications. This LRD application is the second phase. The first phase is a Strategic Housing Development for 183 build-to-rent apartments. That application was made to An Bord Pleanála on 23rd December 2021 (case number 312352) and was supposed to be decided in April 2022. Further details can be found on www.richmondroadshd.ie.

More information

The application reference is LRD6006/23-S3

A web site for the application is available at www.leydenslrd.ie

Last day for observations is Tuesday 4th of April 2023.

A guide to making a planning observation can be found at neasahourigan.com/observation.

Please get in contact with any queries at neasa.hourigan@oireachtas.ie