Local opposition to plans for a 39-unit apartment scheme in Blackrock received a boost when Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council sought revised plans from developer Bartra for the “age-friendly” project at Woodlands Park. The council wants the number of units to be reduced.
Retired judge Peter J McMahon is one of the objectors to the plan.
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown has also rejected plans for another Bartra “age-friendly” build-to-rent scheme at Mount Auburn on Killiney Hill Road. It said the proposed 29-unit development would “set an undesirable precedent for similar development”.
In his objection to the Blackrock Bartra scheme, Judge McMahon claimed the proposal would “create chaos in the area” and would “wreck the place”.
With an address at Mount Merrion Avenue, he and Ann McMahon also said that “the height of the building is outrageous”.
They added that “this is a quiet secluded residential area. The development will create chaos in the area”.
“Woodlands Park is a magnificent area and this scheme will wreck the place, ” they said in their submission.
‘Visual impact’
Judge McMahon retired as a District Court judge in 2013 and was subsequently appointed in 2014 to the role of Confidential Recipient for Gardaí and gave evidence at the Protected Disclosures Tribunal concerning his role.
Judge McMahon – who turns 79 this year – served as judge in District Courts in the Dublin and Meath-Louth areas.
In total, 53 objections have been lodged against the Bartra scheme by local residents.
The council has requested that the developer lodge revised plans to increase the number of two-bedroom apartments in the scheme and this would reduce the overall number of units in the proposal.
The local authority has also said that it has significant concerns relating to the “visual impact of the proposed development”.
The council has also requested Bartra demonstrate that the proposal would not result in a proliferation of build-to-rent accommodation within a 1km catchment area.
