Plans for 4,377 residential units put before planning board over five days

Government fast-track planning rules allow developers bypass local authorities

The fast-track Strategic Housing Development rules sometimes save a year or more in the planning process. Photograph: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The fast-track Strategic Housing Development rules sometimes save a year or more in the planning process. Photograph: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Developers have put plans for 4,377 residential units in the space of five days before An Bord Pleanála under Government fast-track planning rules.

The 4,377 total over the five-day period represent 77 per cent of the 5,667 residential units completed nationally in the third quarter of this year.

The 4,377 across 11 separate applications will undergo a preliminary evaluation by appeals board planners during a consultation phase before the plans are formally lodged at a later date for planning permission.

The fast-track Strategic Housing Development (SHD) planning rules allow developers bypass local authorities sometimes saving a year or more in the planning process.

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Larger plans

Some of the larger plans include a proposal by Makros Ltd for 1,324 residential units at Southgreen Road and Old Road, Kildare town, and plans by Aeval Unlimited Company for 685 residential units at Shankill, Co Dublin.

Underlining the increased rate of (SHD) fast-track applications going before the appeals board, the board will be making decisions concerning 42 separate applications for 14,107 residential units and 1,609 student bed spaces between the end of this month and March of next year.

A large proportion of the applications are for apartments in the capital that include a strong “build to rent” element where at least 4,025 are aimed for the booming rental market.

Gordon Deegan

Gordon Deegan

Gordon Deegan is a contributor to The Irish Times