Galway Developer O'Malley construction has got planning permission from Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council for a residential development at Knockrabo, off Heidelberg Road in Goatstown, Dublin 14.

The permission is for 159 residential units - 130 apartments and 29 houses - in five blocks rising from six to eight storeys on a 4.9-acre site bounded by Salamanca, Salzburg and Heidelberg roads. Access to the site will be from Heidelberg Road.

O'Malley Developments is the third developer to Knockrabo. It bought a portion of the site from Niall Mellon's Knockrabo Developments in an off-market deal. Mellon, who owns Taylor's Three Rock pub and the Henry Grattan pub, purchased the site for €50 million in 2003 from the Merrion Property Group. He is proposing to build a €250 million residential scheme at Knockrabo, which is the subject of an An Bord Pleanála appeal.

A total of 15 submissions have been received by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council responding to the proposal to develop a major residential scheme on a 7.4-acre site.

The scheme, if it gets the go-ahead from the council, will involve the construction of 330 apartments, 34 duplexes and five townhouses in eight blocks ranging in height from two to 12 storeys and over 500 car-parking spaces.

Local residents, resident associations and An Taisce have written to the council regarding the proposals.

Around two-thirds of submissions objected to the development. The height and density of the development, as well as traffic and car-parking concerns, were the main reasons cited by objectors. The loss of trees is another concern.

An Bord Pleanála previously blocked a plan by the previous owner, Michael Roden's Merrion Property Group, to build almost 600 apartments and houses on the site.

One of the grounds cited for the refusal was the loss of open space and a "significant number of trees" on the former Bank of Ireland sports grounds. Another reason was the fact that the local authority has not yet determined a road layout for the area.