Royal Oak site planning application

A summary of the Strategic Housing Development planning application to An Bord Pleanála for the old Royal Oak public house site on the Finglas Road can be found below.

Development

The development comprises 103 residential units. Current mix of the 103 residential units is:

• 10 studio (9.7%)
• 33 one-bedroom (32%)
• 60 two-bedroom (58.3%)

This a build to rent development. As such there are no restrictions on dwelling mix (Specific Planning Policy Requirement 8) .

Social Housing

Under Part V the development will set aside 10 units (6 one bed and 4 two bedroom units) for Dublin City Council social housing.

Height

The building will be six - nine storeys over basement level.

The proposed development has a maximum height of 31.23m (from street level to the top of the parapet).

The Dublin City Development Plan has a height limit of 16m for this area. The developer has prepared a Material Contravention Statement outlining why it feels a height of 31.23m is appropriate.

Zoning

The site is primarily zoned as “Sustainable Residential Neighbourhoods – Zone Z1” which intends “to protect, provide and improve residential amenities”.

Parts of the site are zoned as “Amenity/Open Space Lands/Green Network – Zone Z9” which intends “preserve, provide and improve recreational amenity and open space and green networks.”

Plot ratio and site coverage

• Plot Ratio - 2.44 (amount of floorspace in relation to the site area). The indicative Plot Ratio in the current development plan for Z1 zoned land is 0.5 - 2.0.
• Site Coverage - 12% (the percentage of the site covered by building structures). The indicative Site Coverage in the current development plan for Z1 zoned land is 45% – 60%.

Parking

The development will provide:

• 48 car parking spaces (including 3 mobility parking spaces and 5 electric charging spaces)
• 2 motorcycle parking spaces
• 222 bicycle parking spaces

Vehicular access will be via the Finglas Road.

The developer has prepared a Material Contravention Statement outlining why it feel the parking provided at the development is sufficient.

Recent planning applications

Dublin City Council Reference 2458/17 - “69 apartments; (32 no. two bedroom units, 19 no. one bedroom units, 15 no. three bedroom units & 3 no. studio apartments) in two five storey blocks”

A full planning history can be found in the Statement of Consistency & Planning Report

Environmental concerns

A Natura Impact Statement on the site concluded that, with mitigation measures, significant negative effects on the conservation objectives of the identified Special Protection Areas are not likely.

An Environmental Impact Assessment Screening Report concluded that the proposed development is not considered to have likely significant effects on the environment and therefore it is considered that an environmental impact assessment report is not required in this instance.

The process

Dublin City Council will produce its report on the development. An An Bord Pleanála inspector will also produce a report. The members of the board of An Bord Pleanála will have the final say (not necessarily in agreemwnet with either the Dublin City Council or inspector’s reports).

Full plans

Full plans for the development can be found at www.royaloakshd.ie. The last day for observations on this application is 5.30pm on 11th May 2022. A guideline for making an observation can be found here.

Getting in touch

Please get in contact with me at neasa.hourigan@oireachtas.ie or (01) 618 3172 if there are any queries in relation to this matter.