So as the end of the planning procedure element of the redevelopment of St Brendans Hospital or Grangegorman as we have all come to know draws to a close, what do we think of it? Will it be built? Should it be built in absence of the LUAS line which is supposed to serve it directly but only kind of does because it skirts along one edge? (Although it has a slightly better chance of survival than metro north)

Its funny when i started in DIT as many who came before can say, on the my first day i was told by the time your in 4th year you’ll be in Grangegorman, so like 10 years after DIT embarked down the road, finally settling on the Strategic Development Zone model last year, planning is drawing to a close.

The Masterplan  is available on the Grangegorman Development Agency website

The last hurdle to jump before the final Bord Decision, is the Oral Hearing. I think it might be useful for anyone even remotely interested in how the process works to make the trip to Bord Pleanala at 64 Marlborough Street on 24th November. Full details below:

ZD2005
Grangegorman, Dublin 7. (GRANGEGORMAN)

Case Type:
Planning Scheme in Strategic Devel. Zone (Board Reference: PL29Z.ZD2005)

Description
Grangegorman Strategic Development Zone Planning Scheme

Date lodged
19/08/2011

Decide By
22/12/2011

Location:
Offices of An Bord Pleanála

Date:
10:00, 24/11/2011

Source: pleanala.ie

As always!

Comments are welcome, you can follow me on the tweet machine @Rusty1052. Only want the blog? Subscribe to the RSS Feed with your favorite reader!

Do you like what you have just read? Maybe you are interested in being a guest writer too. Email me at colinb@dt106ers.com

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As part of my work in the Bord I did a small bit of research into the whole area of all the wind turbine applications that passed through the boards doors. The idea was to identify the main issues that crop up in all the planning appeals.

All cases which involved wind turbines were identified. Below is a map of all the granted applications by the Bord since 1998 for applications involving 6 turbines or more:

Link to the Larger Map (Pls note some of the geolocated points are in the wrong location these will be fixed in time)

By the Numbers

In total 1530 turbines were applied for, only 872 were granted permission on appeal.

The county with the greatest number of turbines with permission is Mayo with 216 turbines, the majority of which are part of the Bellacorrick wind farm.

Next week I will dig a little deeper into the data that I gathered on our windfarms and detail some of the main issues considered during the assessment of these applications including links to the spreadsheets containing the data. However until then, the big question is just how many of these have been built?

As always!

Comments are welcome, you can follow me on the tweet machine @Rusty1052. Only want the blog? Subscribe to the RSS Feed with your favorite reader!

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It’s pretty decent if i do say so myself, from the fifth floor (the board room level) you’ve got panoramic views of the city. Below is a taster view looking to the Northside. The bottom of North Great Georges street is cut off though, due to my amazing photography skills! One day we saw David Norris strolling down the street and yes you can hear his booming voice 5 stories up!

View from the Top

(Click for full Glory) View from the Top Photo: Colin Broderick

As always!

Comments are welcome, you can follow me on the tweet machine @Rusty1052. Only want the blog? Subscribe to the RSS Feed with your favorite reader!

No related posts.

Proposed Incinerator location (Indaver Ireland)

An Bord Pleanla has refused planning permission by direction today for the proposed amended Waster to Energy Hazardous Waste Plant (for you and me an incinerator).

I can’t seem to find the direction on the Bord’s website yet however the original bord file can be found here.

As the application was considered strategic infrastructure it has its own website: www.ringaskiddywastetoenergy.ie

This post will be update when the conditions for refusal become available. But one can safely assume as part of the EIS, Indavor could not mitigate against the concerns raised in relation to flooding and emissions.

Below is the article from the irish times on the news:

An Bord Pleanála has refused planning permission to Indaver Ireland for a proposed €150 million twin incinerator project in Cork harbour.

An Bord Pleanála signed off on the decision yesterday for the proposal for the Ringaskiddy site and communicated the decision to the various parties today.

Indaver Ireland had originally applied for planning permission for a 100,000 tonne hazardous waste incinerator, a 140,000 tonnes municipal waste incinerator and a transfer station.

In January 2010, Bord Pleánala refused planning for the municipal waste incinerator but said it was considering granting planning for the hazardous waste incinerator and the transfer station.

It said Indaver should make some changes to its environmental impact statement to address concerns over flooding, coastal erosion and revised emissions.

In May 2010, Indaver reduced the size of the buildings by 40 per cent while retaining the same capacity while it also made changes so water would be recycled rather than discharged.

Environmental group Chase has campaigned against the project saying the proposed site is unsuitable due to risk of flooding and erosion.

During a four-week oral hearing in May and June 2009, the group also questioned the need for the facility and expressed concern about its impact on public health in the harbour area.

IrishTimes - BARRY ROCHE

As always folks comments are welcome, you can follow me on the tweet machine @Rusty1052. Only want the blog? Subscribe to the RSS Feed with your favorite reader! Finally, Rest in Peace Mr. Brian Lenhian.

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Bord Pleanála has approved Shell E&P Ireland’s third proposed route for the final section of the Corrib gas pipeline with 58 conditions.

Inspector Martin Nolan, who chaired last year’s resumed oral hearing on the revised plan, says that the application’s “clarity and transparency” provides “confidence that the safety of the public is fully protected, and that the public will not be put at risk”.

He said this new plan submitted by Shell and partners last year was the “most suitable, the shortest and the most obvious route for this development”.

The route involves constructing a 4.2m-wide tunnel in Sruwaddacon estuary for a pipe carrying high pressure raw gas from the landfall at Glengad. The final section will run overland to the gas terminal already completed at Ballinaboy.

The offshore pipeline has already been laid.

Sruwaddacon estuary is a special area of conservation (SAC), running between the communities of Rossport, Pollathomas, Glengad and Aughoose. Among the groups which made submissions to Bord Pleanála on health and safety issues was the local national school at Pollathomas

Mr Nolan said the development was a “major project by any measure”, but the modifications proposed would have a “remarkably light impact on the pristine environment of the area”.

A previous application submitted by Shell and Corrib gas partners was rejected by Bord Pleanála as half of it was deemed unacceptable on safety grounds due to proximity to housing.

Mr Nolan said the board’s decision to “adopt a consequence based routing distance was a key driver” which “provided the impetus for Shell to moderate the consequence of a gas release” from the pipeline.

“Corrib will, I have no doubt, provide impetus for future expansion of the natural gas network in Ireland and I expect it will provide impetus for additional exploration off the coast,” Mr Nolan said. “Corrib will in my view provide opportunity for Mayo in particular to develop as a new energy producing centre.”

However, he said that new momentum was required to “engage the local community and to ensure the benefits of the scheme are developed and harnessed locally”.

He has recommended that an €8.5 million “community gain investment fund” be paid over five years by Shell and partners, which would be held in trust by Mayo County Council.

He said he believed this fund would “provide a strong enabling community gain which can be developed with leadership at every level into a long term economic and social stimulus for the area locally, but regionally as well”.

He praised Government policy on developing gas energy, but said that “further strategic planning” was required if “the depths of controversy and conflict seen in the Corrib scheme are to be avoided in future”.

“Standards, strategic development sites, strategic corridors, clear process requirements for all consents, open procedures for decision making, transparency in presentation of projects” were areas which had “led to the depth of conflict and controversy seen in the Corrib scheme”, Mr Nolan said.

Irish Times – LORNA SIGGINS, Western Correspondent

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RTÉ HAS been granted planning permission by An Bord Pleanála for a phased €350 million redevelopment of the northern half of its Montrose campus in Donnybrook, Dublin, over a period of 10 years.

The board’s decision, which is subject to 23 conditions, was based on its consideration of the Dublin City Development Plan as well as “the established use of the site, the pattern of development in the vicinity and the design and layout” of the scheme.

However, plans to sell the southern part of the 31-acre site have been constrained by a condition that the use of buildings to be retained “shall be restricted to use by RTÉ staff only and shall not be sold or leased separately” unless permission is granted.

Objectors to the proposed development included An Taisce, the German embassy, billionaire financier Dermot Desmond, who has a house on nearby Ailesbury Road, and several other local residents, who claimed that it would be out of scale.

The planning board ruled that it would be “an acceptable form of development at this location, within the setting of the protected structures and the architectural quality of the campus” and that it would not seriously injure the amenities of the area.

RTÉ said it was pleased to learn of the board’s decision to approve what the national broadcaster calls its “Project 2025” plan for the “long-term modernisation” of its production facilities in Donnybrook, which originally date from 1962.

“The securing of planning permission is an important milestone in a project which commenced in 2002 and which aims to ensure that RTÉ is properly equipped to meet its obligations in a digital age,” the station said.

It made no reference to funding.

Designed by Scott Tallon Walker, the new broadcasting complex would extend to more than 63,500sq m (683,500sq ft) above basement level in buildings ranging from nearly 11m to 36m in height – the equivalent of nine storeys.

They would house television and radio studios, multi-purpose spaces, newsrooms, orchestra, office accommodation and associated facilities, sound stages, set storage areas, broadcasting technology suites, workshops, a creche and parking for 820 cars.

It would involve demolishing the remnants of a walled garden, the existing radio building, a squat multistorey car park to the rear, a single storey creche, a sound stage-library building, a set storage building and an outdoor set used by Fair City.

The board has also specified that a full architectural and photographic survey of the Radio Centre be carried out prior to commencement of development, with a copy to be lodged in the Irish Architectural Archive.

Its decision related to revised plans submitted by the architects during the course of the appeal.

IrishTimes

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When you look at the Phasing Map for the release of the residential zoned land, it seems to ignore the area to the south of the centre of Dunleer. Also I am not sure why the big blob of residential land is dropped into the plan on the eastern side. When I read up on Dubleer a bit more I will post a more detailed post. For now I will leave you with Frank McDonalds piece from Mondays IrishTimes:

FRANK McDONALD, Environment Editor

AN TAISCE has called on Louth County Council to “dezone” large areas of land outside the village of Dunleer designated for residential or commercial development in a 2003 plan.

Quoting from the recent “A Haunted Landscape” report by the National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis at NUI Maynooth, An Taisce endorsed its finding that local plans had been “driven by the demands of local people, developers and speculators”.

The submission compiled by Gerry Crilly, a Dunleer-based member of the conservation body’s national council, described the mid-Louth village as “a microcosm of the national crisis that Ireland now finds itself in” following the property crash.

According to the county council, Dunleer’s 29 hectares (74 acres) of undeveloped residential and commercial zoned lands “greatly exceeds” what is required. If all of it was developed, it would more than double the population to at least 4,000.

The current population is estimated at between 1,600 and 1,800, and An Taisce said future population growth “may not occur within the next six years due to the rise in emigration, increasing unemployment and no net immigration into Ireland”.

It pointed to a large area of land zoned commercial at Woodlands, southwest of Dunleer, saying it was distant from the village centre and had already been the subject of three refusals for large-scale commercial developments.

Its submission said that all zoned land outside the the “natural boundaries” of Dunleer, which it identified as the M1 motorway to the west and the railway line to the east, should now be dezoned in order to promote more sustainable development.

It also noted that An Taisce had successfully appealed three decisions by the council to grant planning permission for proposed developments adjacent to the disused railway station on the basis that these schemes would “prejudice” its reopening.

Upholding these appeals, An Bord Pleanála said it was “not satisfied that the development of the site, in the manner that has been proposed, would allow for the station to be reopened or for the land, to be developed in a comprehensive manner”.

Although the Louth County Development Plan adopted in 2003 had a policy “to seek the reopening of Dunleer railway station”, An Taisce complained that this was not explicit in the latest plan and said it should be stated in “clear and unambiguous” terms.

It is also seeking a “clear policy” by the council not to zone “low-lying lands” in the floodplain of White River as part of a “proactive flood prevention policy”. Instead, it wants to see these lands designated as an “amenity buffer zone” for the village.

Calling for a strategic environmental assessment of the draft local plan, An Taisce said all previous development zonings along the river should be reconsidered due to “future vulnerability to increased flood risk”, particularly during the winter.

It also wants to see a “regional heritage park” developed in Dunleer, centred on a surviving Norman motte south of the village.

IrishTimes

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Well this pretty much snook in under the radar! I hadn’t heard a peep from this project, I assumed it was dead and buried for another time, how wrong was I!? Very happy to know i was wrong! From the RPA:

The Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) has today (20th October 2010) announced its intention to apply to An Bord Pleanála for a Railway Order for Metro West, a light railway from Old Blessington Road, Tallaght to Dardistown, just south of Dublin Airport. The railway order, if granted, would permit RPA to construct, operate and maintain the Metro West light railway.

The proposed line begins at a new terminus in the median of Belgard Road adjacent to the Institute of Technology Tallaght. The line runs northwards over the Luas Red Line at Kilnamanagh/Belgard to Clondalkin and onwards to Quarryvale before crossing the River Liffey on a new bridge. The route continues to Porterstown and Blanchardstown, past the National Aquatic Centre and northwards to Cappoge and Meakstown before ending at a connection with Metro North at Dardistown. Full details of the proposed route, stops, Park & Ride and other details are available here on this website.

The Metro West project is a key element of Transport 21, the governments transport investment framework and the railway order application represents a significant milestone in the delivery of the project. Metro West will link the large towns and districts in west Dublin such as Tallaght, Clondalkin, Liffey Valley and Blanchardstown. With linked services between Metro North and Metro West it will also connect these towns with Swords, the city centre and all other locations along the route of Metro North.

Metro West will integrate with the wider transport network with interchanges with Luas, Irish Rail, Metro North, bus and QBCs, taxis and Park & Ride along the route. The integration that Metro West will greatly improve connections within the entire public transport system.

The railway order application is the culmination of a number of years of planning, consultation, assessment and design work. The railway order includes plans and drawings of all the scheme infrastructure, legal documentation and an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the scheme. These documents will be on display at the offices of South Dublin and Fingal County Council, Railway Procurement Agency and An Bord Pleanála from the 29th of October 2010 and also available to view and download fromwww.dublinmetrowest.ie from the same date.

Metro West will deliver substantial benefits to communities in west Dublin, providing a quality public transport system, employment opportunities during the construction and operation phases, regeneration potential and environmental improvement. Overall Metro West will enhance the quality of life for those who live, work and visit the area.

Click here to view or download Metro West Railway Order Application Newspaper Notice

Click here to view or download Metro Metro West Railway Order Application Newspaper Notice Press Release

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OLIVIA KELLY

CONSTRUCTION OF the controversial Poolbeg incinerator could restart within months following the decision of An Bord Pleanála to grant permission to Dublin City Council to compulsorily purchase land required for the facility.

An Bord Pleanála will this week write to the council to say that it does not intend to hold public hearings on the application to acquire 65 plots of land along the coastline.

The letter will give the council the authority to confirm its compulsory purchase order (CPO) for the land.

The decision means the council will no longer need a foreshore licence from Minister for the Environment John Gormley to develop a water-cooling facility for the development, which was the last barrier to the construction of the 600,000 tonne capacity incinerator.

Construction of the incinerator began last December but has been suspended since May because, developers Covanta said, of the lack of a foreshore licence which had been applied for in August 2008.

Mr Gormley has previously said that he is not delaying making a decision on the licence, as responsibility for foreshore licences was only transferred to his department last January

By taking ownership of the land, the council would no longer need the licence as it would have automatic access to the river water.

The council applied for the order in the middle of August last following a request by Covanta.

The compulsory purchase order process is often a considerably lengthy one, involving protracted oral hearings.

However, An Bord Pleanála said they received no valid objections to the order and so there was no requirement for a hearing.

The board did receive objections from residents’ associations and environmental groups to the compulsory purchase of the land but, as these were not “notice parties”, ie owners of the land, it dismissed their appeals.

The owners of the land, a 1.7sq km plot, are the Minister for Finance (on behalf of the State), the Dublin Port Company and the council itself.

The Dublin Port Company said it had no objection to the order as it would have “no impact on the operations of the port”.

Under the CPO process, the council must publish a notice stating that the order has been confirmed after it receives the letter from An Bord Pleanála.

Three weeks after publication, the order becomes operative and negotiations then begin on the level of compensation to be paid to the landowners.

However, there is provision within this timeframe for a judicial review of the CPO decision to be sought.

It is unlikely that any of the three landowners will take this step, as they didn’t object to the order in the first place.

Other parties could seek a review, if they can establish that they have a “substantial interest” in the land.

Legal sources specialising in planning law said that this would be difficult for anyone to establish if they weren’t the owners of the land, particularly if they had already been excluded from the process by An Bord Pleanála.

Damien Cassidy, who is chairman of the Ringsend, Sandymount and Irishtown Environmental Group, was among those whose objections to the order was considered invalid by An Bord Pleanála.

The group had objected on the grounds that the compulsory purchase order lands included part of a public road and footpath.

At the time it submitted the order, the council said that it had no intention of blocking the public right of way.

IrishTimes

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DEVELOPER SEÁN Dunne has been granted planning permission to demolish and rebuild Hume House, a 1960s office block in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.

An Bord Pleanála granted permission to Mountbrook Group, a company owned by Mr Dunne, for the development.

Approval was granted with 16 conditions, including that external finishes for the building should be agreed in advance with Dublin City Council.

Financier Dermot Desmond was among the objectors to the proposal, describing the design as “ugly”. He had said the facade treatment and the quality of the design were both “poor” and the materials “seem to be chosen for their cost-effectiveness as opposed to . . . design interest”.

Among the other objectors were An Taisce and the Pembroke Road Residents Association, which claimed the plan represented an attempt to improve the valuation of the site before it was taken over by the National Asset Management Agency (Nama).

Asked if the development would go ahead, the Mountbrook Group declined to comment.

Hume House, a nine-storey office block on Northumberland Road built in 1966, was named after its UK developers, Hume Holdings. It was one of the high-profile acquisitions made by Mr Dunne in 2005, which included Jurys, The Towers Hotel and the Berkeley Court Hotel in Ballsbridge.

He acquired it from Irish Life when he swapped it for a docklands property. Hume House was valued at the time at about €130 million.

The decision is likely to raise the value of the property, thus reducing the gap between its possible sale price and the value of any development loans taken out to fund its acquisition. Nama is in the process of taking over development loans from the banks.

The planned new building, though also nine storeys at its highest point, will be nine metres taller than the existing building.

It is designed in a “Y” shape, of six, eight and nine storeys high over a three-level basement.

The development includes more than 16,000sq m of office space and more than 3,000sq m of basement space. Finishes include aluminium, sandstone and white stone facades with extensive glazing.

One of the concerns raised by objectors was the possibility of flooding due to the planned three-storey basement and the building’s position in the Dodder flood plain.

But planning inspector Karla O’Brien, who recommended to the planning board that the application be approved, said there were no records of the site or surrounding area, which is 400 metres west of the river Dodder, ever being flooded.

A spokesman for An Bord Pleanála said it considered seeking specialist hydrological advice, but was satisfied that was not necessary.

Mr Dunne has also submitted revised plans for the Jurys/Berkeley Court site in Ballsbridge. This followed the rejection of plans considered by the planning board last year, which included a 37-storey tower.

His new plans include 12 blocks of chiefly residential development with two 15-storey towers.

IrishTimes

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