The Monkstown Road Residents Association is one of 70 parties to lodge objections to a 488 unit build-to-rent scheme on grounds around Dalguise House on Monkstown Rd in south Dublin.
On November 25th last, Greystar subsidiary, GEDV Monkstown Owner Limited lodged plans for the scheme with Dublin City Council under the new Large Scale Residential Development (LRD) system.
A “global leader in rental housing”, the US headquartered Greystar said that it is qa market leader in the delivery and operation of build-to-rent (BTR) developments “and this development would “be their flagship development in Ireland and that it will set the standard for BTR developments in the country”.
The scheme will have ten blocks, with one reaching nine storeys in height. It will also have three three-bed terraced units.
Twenty per cent of the units will be made available for social and affordable housing. The development will be the first scheme in Ireland that Greystar have brought from design through to operation.
However, in its objection, the Monkstown Rd Residents Association told the council that “the residential and visual amenity of Monkstown Road and the surrounding area and streets will be severely denuded as a result of the proposed scale, height, layout and car parking arrangement of the proposed development”.
The residents association said that the quantum of residential development proposed in the LRD is significantly in excess of the 300 units proposed by the Strategic Housing Development (SHD) granted planning permission in August 2020 but which was subsequently quashed under High Court Judicial Review on application by the association.
On behalf of the residents’ association, Marston Consultancy claimed that the schem, e through a material reduction in locals’ residential amenity, would have a material and significant reduction in the value of property adjoining and close to the application site.
In a joint objection, Cllr Melissa Halpin, and TD Richard Boyd Barrett TD said that “the height, density, scale and visual impact of this development is out of character with preserving the Victorian ambience of Monkstown”.
The two People Before Profit-Solidarity public representatives said: “The housing crisis continues to deepen despite the increased number of developments. The only people winning are the developers and the Vulture funds while the communities, environment and in this case our heritage are being harmed.
“While we are very aware of the desperate need for housing, it needs to be built sustainably and affordable to the general population.”
Executive director with the Irish Georgian Society, Donough Cahill, has called on the Council to refuse planning permission stating that the society has significant concerns about the planning application for Dalguise House “due to what would be the irretrievable loss of what would be the largest surviving 19th century garden in the Monkstown and Dún Laoghaire areas”.
