Residents of Dartry, Co Dublin, are opposing plans for a 1,000-bed student flats complex to ease the housing crisis faced by students of Trinity College Dublin.
Nearly 200 objections have been received by the planning department at Dublin Corporation since the application was lodged on April 13th.
If approved, the £30 million development will include nine blocks ranging in height from three to five storeys.
The complex will house 1,004 students in 180 apartments.
A residents' group opposing the plan has held several meetings to discuss the plans, and many high-profile political and ecclesiastical figures have objected to the project.
Among the principal objectors are the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Walton Empey, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Ms Mary Freehill, Ms Frances Fitzgerald TD of Fine Gael and An Taisce.
Key points raised by the objection letters are: the architectural style of the proposed building, the excessive scale of the plan, the destruction of trees on the site, worsening traffic congestion, reducing water pressure and the adverse effect 1,000 students would have on the balance of population in the area.
In his objection letter to the plans, Dr Empey writes: "I am well aware of the difficulty for students in finding accommodation in the city and would not in any way oppose a development that led to the easing of the situation.
"However, I am horrified by the size and scale of that which is envisaged for Trinity Hall in Dartry, but particularly the height of the buildings in the plan."
The strength of the objections to the plan, coupled with the large scale of the development, has caused Dublin Corporation to delay the planning decision on three occasions to seek further information. The decision is now expected on September 9th.
If the development is approved, it would bring TCD's student accommodation level to just under 2,000 places.
This would accommodate about a seventh of the college's student population, which has reached almost 14,000 this year.
The director of building at TCD, Mr Tim Cooper, said the new development "will be a tremendous help to students as accommodation is extremely difficult to find. "We hope to start construction in four months' time and we hope to get at least some places available to students by September 2000." The president of the Union of Students in Ireland, Mr Philip Madden, said any objections should be heard on the proposed building plans, but providing on-campus accommodation was also extremely important.
Asked about the objections to the Trinity Hall development, he said: "You have to come to a compromise: students need somewhere to live. I'm sure these people had sons and daughters who went to college. How would they feel if they had nowhere to live?"