Objection Points Re Reg Ref ABP-300559/18

  1. LOSS TO COMMUNITY & BIOSPHERE: This development represents a big bite out of St Anne's Park for the benefit of a developer, that with its catastrophic change of use and abrupt and jarring change of scale, density and height, will irreversibly damage the park's amenity and ecological value to the community and the Dublin Bay Biosphere.
  2. * ATTEMPTED PRIVATISATION OF A PUBLIC ASSET: The developer is trying to form the misleading impression that this land is privately available for a residential development when it has a long standing use as a pubic amenity and wildlife refuge as part of the wider St Anne's Park historic demesne. The Vincentian Order have made a number statements on the public record that this land was not to be sold for development, but in 2015 they secretly made a deal with the developer. The planning process is the only opportunity the public has to stop this illegitimate project; hence it is vital that this and other objections are heeded and the attempt to privatise this part of the St Anne's Park is prevented.
  3. * ATTEMPT TO BYPASS CORRECT PLANNING PROCEDURE: The developer is trying to make windfall profits by effectively up-zoning amenity land from Z15 (traditionally: Institutional, Educational & Amenity use) to Z1 (Residential) without following due process under the development plan, which would require a rezoning motion to be presented to the publicly-elected city councillors to adjudicate on behalf of their constituents. This attempt to bypass the democratic process should be refused.
  4. ATTEMPT TO BYPASS CORRECT PLANNING PROCEDURE: The current attempt to have this wrongly-sited scheme considered under the new "Strategic Housing Infrastructure" process is a cynical attempt to bypass both the local authority and its development plan and the protections hitherto enjoyed by this public amenity land under Z15 zoning. The Developer mysteriously withdrew application Ref 4185/15 for 381 units on October 10th 2016; the day a planning decision was to be made. Assuming he wouldn't have withdrawn it if he thought a grant was imminent, one must conclude that he would only have withdrawn it if he had information it was going to be refused. If Dublin City Council previously saw fit to refuse this application, it should not now be granted.
  5. LOSS OF SPORTING AMENITY: Under the project-split supporting application (Reg Ref 3777-17) for severely-reduced sporting "facilities" (comprising a sports hall and 1.5 all-weather pitches in lieu of 6 existing grass pitches and a 1 half-size all-weather pitch) there are no enforceable guarantees or sustainable arrangements on offer to sports facility users by Orsigny Ltd, which will retain ownership of the facilities. Unfortunately this organisation has a track record of making promises relating to land use, after which the land use has been changed to the exclusion of users. As such this application is based upon a false premise; namely that the loss of 6 playing fields to the community is somehow being compensated for.
  6. LOSS OF SPORTING AMENITY: The proposed net gain of 1.5 all-weather pitches and a hall is merely a planning sop as it will not allow sports to be played concurrently as is currently the case with the existing 6 pitches + 1 half-sized all-weather pitch; the development therefore represents a catastrophic and permanent curtailment of the established community sporting use on these amenity lands.
  7. LOSS OF SPORTING AMENITY: As of January 2018 the developer has taken steps to exclude the use of the playing fields by Soccer, Rugby and GAA clubs. This expulsion of community groups after 60 years of continuous use is outrageous and should not be rewarded with any grant of permission for a residential scheme which will permanently exclude vital community sporting activities from these lands.
  8. LOSS OF EDUCATIONAL AMENITY: The application proposes the permanent removal of educationally-zoned land and existing classrooms from the inner-suburban north side of Dublin, despite St Paul's College being in a position where it feels it needs to annually discourage and refuse enrolments; In February 2016 a large banner was hung at the school entrance stating: "SCHOOL IS NOW CLOSED FOR 1ST YEAR APPLICATIONS FOR SEPTEMBER 2016".
  9. Z15 ZONING DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY PERMIT Z1 TYPE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT: The Z15 zoning of the playing pitches was never intended to allow for residential development of the type being proposed; Z15 zoning lists "Residential" as "Open for Consideration" only in the case of an institution looking to provide ancillary residential accommodation: E.g. a university or hospital looking to provide student or nursing accommodation on its campus. While the Vincentian Order could conceivably have argued for an accommodation block for its members on its grounds, St Paul's College is a secondary day school with no boarders and therefore no accommodation requirement. This is now, however, a moot point since the Vincentians (controversially) claim to have sold the playing pitches in 2015. These pitches are now therefore orphaned form the parent institution in terms of zoning. Thus "Residential" is no longer "Open for Consideration"; instead the Z15 zoning remains exclusively: "to protect and provide for institutional and community uses". The existing and long-standing playing pitch amenity use must therefore be retained.
  10. Z15 PROTECTIONS & LOSS TO COMMUNITY & BIOSPHERE: The protections of the Dublin Bay Biosphere and the EU Habitats and Birds Directives trump any of the amendments that have been made to the Z15 zoning class since 2012. The intention behind the Z15 zoning for this land was to protect its human and natural amenity (and educational use) from residential development. Despite recent changes to the parameters of what is allowable within a Z15 zoning (following a court case taken regarding different Z15 land on the other side of the city), the base requirement for this land to remain protected as part of St Anne's Park remains. This has become clear following the commissioning of the developer's Natura Impact Assessment which admits that the land is the most densely-used site for Brent Geese in Dublin, after the Bull Island, to which it serves the vital role as their main staging ground to access the inland grazing network.
  11. LOSS TO COMMUNITY & BIOSPHERE: The Main Avenue of St Anne's, one of the great Nineteenth Century landscaping set-pieces of Dublin's north side, and a much loved amenity, is lined with pine trees and evergreen Holm oaks which can live from 400 up to 800 years. It is imperilled by the proposed adjoining estate road and swale, and the artificial all-weather pitch and sports hall (proposed under supporting development Reg Ref 3777-17) which are all too close to the Avenue. The excavation of the foundations and drainage system for the roads, artificial pitch and hall will infringe on the existing and future root systems of the trees which, being evergreen, are particularly susceptible to drought.
  12. DAMAGE TO NANIKEN STREAM & BIOSPHERE: The application proposes routing a surface water sewer from this large development across the public park (a conservation area) to discharge into the Naniken stream. Additional discharge to the Naniken, even if attenuated (and particularly if not maintained), will exacerbate existing periodic flash flooding occurrences which put the public, flora, fauna and protected follies at risk. The most recent flooding event on May 27th 2017 was exacerbated by the new tidal flood defences at James Larkin Road. These works didn't increase the road culvert size, with the result that any excess surface water cannot exit the park into the sea and instead floods the park and road, damaging habitat and causing a hazard to park and road users. Thus additional discharge to the Naniken stream should not be permitted.
  13. DAMAGE TO BRENT GEESE FORAGING GRASSLAND & BIOSPHERE: This application relies on the grant of a separate, project-split application (Reg. Ref. 3777/17) for so-called sports facilities (1 hall and 1.5 pitches in lieu of 6 + 0.5 existing pitches). This application was so contentious Dublin City Council issued a comprehensive Request for Further Information (RFI), which the developer has yet to respond to. Any grant of the current application would be premature without a decision on Reg. Ref. 3777/17. Furthermore a positive decision on 3777/17 cannot be assumed in light of the numerous concerns raised by various council departments including Parks & Landscape Services which concluded that they "have significant concern over the approval of this application in view of the concerns expressed above." Said concerns include: damage to the main avenue trees and destruction of this Brent Goose inland feeding site, which they regard as "the most important ex-situ feeding site for Brent Geese in Dublin based on highest peak counts of Brent Geese, regularity of use, its geographical location in relation to North Bull Island, its size, and the relative lack of disturbance".
  14. COMPUTER GENERATED IMAGES DOWNPLAY VISUAL, SOCIAL AND ECOLOGICAL IMPACT OF SCHEME: The developer has submitted drawings and computer generated images that purport to show a verdant, open residential scheme sited harmoniously in a verdant setting. The images are particularly misleading as they downplay the impact of the development on the remainder of St Anne's Park: 1) Infill of foliage camouflage material behind avenue trees is disingenuous as any new roadside tree planting within the new development will not be enough to screen the development form the avenue, while any hedging will be overshadowed by tree canopies and eventually die-off. Red lines are indicated rather than the actual buildings, which will clearly have an intrusive overbearing impact on the avenue. 2) The all-weather pitch proposed under separate application Reg Ref 3777-17 is shown as grass when it is in fact a fenced, floodlit artificial surface more akin to a prison compound than to a verdant field. 3) Ariel views are taken of the new 8 storey flat blocks facing their narrow ends and the greenness of their roofs is exaggerated to disingenuously reduce their substantial and detrimental visual impact.
  15. DAMAGE TO SETTING OF A PROTECTED STRUCTURE: The verdant setting and curtilage of Sybil Hill House, a protected structure, will be permanently damaged by this insensitive development.
  16. OVERLOOKING OF THE MEADOWS ESTATE: Combined with the previously-approved development now underway on the site of the former St Paul's swimming pool, the proposed development, with its abrupt increase in scale, will serve to encircle and overlook the back gardens of the 2 storey houses in the Meadows Estate resulting in a severe loss of privacy and amenity.
  17. TRAFFIC CONGESTION: Attempting to impose 536 units on this landlocked site with a single access point through a school onto an already busy road leading to a very congested junction at the Howth Road will lead to traffic gridlock and will represent a significant hazard to both primary and secondary schoolchildren on Sybil Hill Road.
  18. PUBLIC TRANSPORT HUB HEIGHT PARAMETERS: The applicant claims that the proposed scheme is within 500 metres of Harmonstown DART Station and uses this to justify apartments up to 8 stories in height. The playing fields are mostly outside the 500mm radius of the DART station. Moreover, the existing street layout requires considerably longer routes to be taken to access the station. Additionally, parts of the 8 storey blocks are outside the 500 metre radius and as such are in breach of this parameter, so should not be permitted.
  19. DEVELOPMENT NOT SOLUTION TO IMMEDIATE HOUSING SHORTAGE: The developer has applied for an extended 10 year long planning permission. This means that the UK pension fund which is funding the developer can use the land as an investment to leverage and flip, rather than commence construction in the short term. This goes against the rapid delivery of much needed housing and gives the investors increased value and opportunity to flip some or all of the land to other investors, all of whom will take a financial mark-up which will push-up the final purchase price to end buyers. As such this scheme is part of the problem, not the solution.
  20. ALTERNATIVE APPROPRIATELY-ZONED DEVELOPMENT LAND WIDELY AVAILABLE: Dublin's inner city and Docklands are still blighted with vacant lots, the inner suburbs are predominantly zoned Z1 Residential, while the northern fringe has only been partially built-out and remains to be completed. It goes against the proper planning and development of the city to propose building on amenity parkland when so much of the city is crying out for regeneration and sensitive infill developments that can contribute to a compact, well-serviced city. Unfortunately this proposal is simply an example of speculative development at its most avaricious in that the scheme is driven by the windfall profits to be made from up-zoning an amenity grassland to Z1-type residential, rather than being driven by a genuine concern regarding the sustainable development of the city. It should be treated as such and given the correct response.
  21. DEVELOPMENT ATTEMPTS TO SUBVERT DUBLIN DEVELOPMENT PLAN: An Bord Pleanala should refuse permission for what is effectively a material change of use of these amenity lands to residential zoning. In doing so the Bord will be sending an important message to speculative developers that attempts to circumvent the provisions of our capital's development plan, and the protections it affords to community and ecological assets, will not be entertained.