A school principal of a primary girls’ school in Ringsend, Dublin 4 has raised child protection concerns over a planned seven-storey build-to-rent scheme for seniors adjacent to the school.
In an objection to the Glencarra Ringsend Ltd scheme, Anne Smith, principal of St Patrick’s Girls National School, expressed her concerns over the 30-unit, build-to-rent plan.
A statement lodged by the applicant’s planning consultants, Tom Phillips & Associates, said that the scheme would provide accommodation for 30 professionally managed social homes for senior citizens on Dublin City Council’s housing list.
The site currently accommodates the two storey Cambridge House and the consultants said “that the proposed apartments are generously laid out, allowing for residents to personalise the interior”.
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The consultants said that the proposed scheme provides an appropriate balance between the delivery of housing and compact growth and ensuring a sensitive response to the residential amenities of Cambridge Rd.
However, Dublin City Council has received over 65 objections to the scheme — mainly from local residents.
In a two page objection lodged on behalf of St Patrick’s board of management, Ms Smith said that if planning permission was granted “residents and workmen will be able to look into our schoolyard as well as into our school building — possibly taking photos and videos of our schoolchildren and staff”.
Ms Smith said that “this would concern us in terms of child protection or GDPR. We would not be able to stop any photos or videos being shared on social media or the Internet”.
In another objection, the Sean Moore Rd Residents Association claimed that the development “threatens the fundamental character of our village with its low rise landscape and opens the door within the village to rampant speculative builds”.
Green councillor Claire Byrne also lodged an objection and has called on the council to refuse planning permission as the scheme was completely out of character with the area and did not complement or enhance the area in any way.
Fine Gael councillor Danny Byrne also called on the council to refuse planning permission.
