Statement from CRA re: Proposed Developments at St. Annes

The Following has been provided by The Clontarf Residents' Associaion RE: Planning Application No. 3899/15

There is substantial opposition locally to the proposal to construct 381 units (houses and apartments) on the lands adjacent to St. Anne’s Park.  These lands,  currently playing pitches which have been used for many years by the people who are members of Clontarf GAA, Clontarf Football, Clontarf Rugby Clubs and St. Paul's students will no longer be available for sporting activities.

The question has also been raised about the compatibility of this development with the spirit of Z15 Zoning. Observations to the Planning Department of Dublin City Council regarding this application must be lodged not later than Tuesday 1st December next.  These can be made by letter accompanied by the fee of €20 or they can be made on line using a credit card.  The on-line process is a bit difficult to navigate so our advice is, if using this method, do not leave it until the last minute because if you have problems, your submission might be too late.   

There are a number of people in Clontarf working on plans to oppose this project so we recommend that you look at the “I love St. Anne’s” Face Book posts as well as those on loveclontarf.ie where we will be keeping you updated. In the interest of balance, see below a statement sent to Clontarf Residents' Association on behalf of the Developer.

                                                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New Generation Homes explain proposed development at St Paul’s College, Sybil Hill Road

New Generation Homes has applied to develop housing and a range of other facilities at the Provincial Headquarters of the Vincentian Order, to the east of St Paul’s College, Sybil Hill Road.  We believe that when completed this will enrich the community in many ways but we understand that there will be concerns about development near the wonderful amenity that is St Anne’s Park.

First, the detail. We have proposed:

- 381 new homes – a mix of apartments and houses

- A Championship size 4G all-weather flood lit pitch that can be used for GAA, Rugby and Soccer all year round

- An all-weather flood lit training pitch

- A multi-use sports centre including a championship size basketball court (which can also be used for other sports), changing rooms, gym, multi-use rooms and a hurling wall

- €5m worth of facilities in St. Paul’s itself

- Significant development contributions to the upgrade of facilities in St. Anne’s.

In addition, the College Trustees will invest €3m in upgrading educational facilities for St Paul’s. The total investment in community and sports facilities will be in the region of €9.5m 

Now, the most important point:  None of the houses or any of the other development proposed will be built within the grounds of St Anne’s Park! We would never apply to do this, and if anyone did so they would quite rightly be refused. Our plans have always been based on the need to avoid visual impact on the Park and following consultation with the community we made further changes to the design to ensure the views from within the Park would not be significantly affected by the development. As evidence, please see the photomontage of our development from the Avenue in St. Anne’s.

The use of the new sports facilities has been carefully planned to ensure the College can access them whenever needed, but local GAA, rugby and soccer clubs will have much greater access than to the current facilities, and will also have the use of a state-of-the-art gym. The College Trustees have confirmed that no one sport will get priority use of the pitches. The facilities provide an opportunity to expand and improve the range of sports offered to College pupils as part of the College’s overall approach to developing sport in the community. The College will retain adequate playing field space, and will not be adversely impacted in any way. It will be positioned to increase pupil numbers in current years as projected demand for secondary school places is expected to increase.

The housing itself will be of high quality design and finish, consistent with the community in which it will be situated.

In a mature community such as this, there is always concern about over-development. We are very conscious of that, and any overly-dense development would take away from the character of the area.  Apart from any concern we have for the environment in which we operate, this would make the homes unattractive to purchasers. We are not going down that road. Some examples:

- While the housing density permitted in the area is 50 units per hectare, our proposal is below that at 43 units per hectare. 

- The plot ratio (proportion of building to size of the site) and site coverage (the footprint of the buildings) are well below what is allowed in the City Development Plan. 

- In this location the Development plan allows for buildings up to six storeys in height.  We are building four storeys with a setback fifth storey. 

- The application complies with all development standards and in terms of density is clearly well below what is allowed.

We need to minimise traffic through what at times can be a congested area. The detailed studies we have done show the relatively modest additional traffic that this development may bring is well below that allowed by all current required standards. The development is ten minutes’ walk from two DART stations and three minutes’ walk from the Malahide Road QBC.  This will clearly minimise the amount of private car traffic. We believe that our future residents will be heavy users of public transport.  Indeed, were these homes to be built further out, away from such excellent public transport links,  they would bring larger volumes of commuter cars through areas such as Raheny and Clontarf.

We have put careful consideration into the concept and design of this development, respecting its setting and its immediate environment. The development is designed to have minimal impact on St. Anne’s Park and generally will have limited visibility from the park.  We believe it will bring significant benefits to the area.  The population in Clontarf has been declining and ageing over the years and this will bring a modest but important element of renewal to what is one of the most attractive communities in Dublin to live in. 

We understand that within Clontarf itself older people who wish to trade down from family homes find it hard to do so without moving out of a community in which they have lived for most of their lives.  The apartments within the development will provide some opportunity for this.

For this development to work, it has to integrate well with the existing community and infrastructure. We believe it will. We will work to minimise any disruption or inconvenience during the construction phase and when it is completed we hope that the existing residents will see this as adding to what is one of the finest places to live in the Greater Dublin Area.

If anyone would like further information please email emma.gosnell@newgen.ie