Seventy apartment owners and tenants at the Beacon One apartment complex have lodged an objection against plans by the Denis O'Brien-controlled Beacon Hospital for a 70 care-bed extension at Sandyford, Dublin.
Last month, Beacon Hospital lodged plans for the €75 million eight-storey extension for the south Dublin hospital, which would also include new A&E facilities, cancer-care facilities and associated in-patient treatment rooms.
The planning application involves the substantive demolition of the eight-storey Beacon Hotel, which the hospital purchased late last year from US billionaire, John Malone's MHL Collection luxury hotel group.
In a comprehensive group objection, the owners and tenants of the Beacon One apartment complex say their complex will be negatively impacted by the proposals.
The objection – drawn up by BPS Planning Consultants – states that every property owner in the Beacon One Apartment Complex purchased their apartment on the basis that it would permanently retain existing access arrangements.
“These are now to be altered in a manner that no apartment holder or tenant at the Beacon One apartment complex agrees with.”
It adds that the applicant should not be permitted to locate the proposed A&E and A&E entrance adjoining the shared courtyard that also serves the Beacon One Apartment scheme.
The objection also states that the proposals would impact on the residential and visual amenities of adjoining apartments in Beacon One by way of negative visual and visual overbearing impacts.
The objection states that even though Beacon One is named in the planning notice, it can’t support the proposals because they would negatively impact on the existing integrated arrangements that exist between the various permitted lands uses in the Beacon scheme.
However, outlining the need for the development, consultants for the Beacon Hospital say it has undergone significant exponential growth, particularly in the last seven years due to the increase in demand across all specialities.
The report lodged with the planning application states that, in 2021, the hospital has conducted over 23,750 surgeries.
The report says the hospital had 43,379 inpatient nights in 2016: it expects to have 56,375 in 2021 – a 30 per cent increase.
“In order to provide additional sustainable and adequate clinical care, Beacon Hospital needs to provide more patient beds.”
A decision is due by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council on the application next month.
