An Bord Pleanála Inspector’s Report APPLICANT: SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL PROPOSED SCHEME: BALGADDY-CLONBURRIS STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT ZONE PLANNING SCHEME DATES OF SITE INSPECTION: 15th JANUARY, 2018 INSPECTOR: KEVIN MOORE ______________________________________________________________________________ ABP-301962-18 An Bord Pleanála Page 1 of 219 CONTENTS Page 1.0 BACKGROUND 7 2.0 DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT 7 2.1 The Site Location 7 2.2 The Scheme 8 3.0 THIRD PARTY APPEALS 11 3.1.1 Cllr Paul Gogarty 11 3.1.2 Cllrs Liona O’Toole, Guss O’Connell & Francis Timmons 12 3.1.3 Cllr Vicki Casserly, Kenneth Egan and Emer Higgins 13 3.1.4 Cairn Homes Properties Ltd. 14 3.1.5 Dietacaron 20 3.1.6 Everglade Properties Ltd. 21 3.1.7 Oldbridge Estate Residents Association 23 3.1.8 Finnstown Abbey/Cloisters/Priory & Other Residents Associations 26 ______________________________________________________________________________ ABP-301962-18 An Bord Pleanála Page 2 of 219 Page 3.1.9 National Asset Management Agency 27 3.1.10 Westbury Court Residents Association 29 3.1.11 Kelland Homes Ltd. 30 3.1.12 Kenneth Kiberd & Peter Stafford 31 3.1.13 The Heapes Family 32 3.1.14 Cllr William Lavelle 33 3.1.15 Foxborough Residents Association 34 4.0 OBSERVATIONS 35 4.1.1 Frances Fitzgerald TD 35 4.1.2 Clear Real Estate Investments PLC 36 5.0 DEVELOPMENT AGENCY RESPONSE TO APPEALS 37 5.1 Response to Appeal by Cllr Paul Gogarty 37 5.2 Response to Other Third Party Appeals 40 6.0 APPELLANTS’ RESPONSES TO OTHER APPEALS 75 7.0 DEVELOPMENT AGENCY’S RESPONSE TO OBSERVATIONS 76 7.1 Response to Clear Real Estate Investments PLC 76 ______________________________________________________________________________ ABP-301962-18 An Bord Pleanála Page 3 of 219 Page 8.0 ASSESSMENT 80 8.1 Strategic Environmental Assessment 80 8.2 Appropriate Assessment Screening 87 8.3 The Policy Context 91 8.4 Transportation Infrastructure Overview 98 8.5 Issues of Public Concern 100 8.5.1 Requested Substantial Material Changes 100 8.5.2 Land Use and Density 106 8.5.3 Movement and Transport 107 8.5.4 Traffic and the Road Network 112 8.5.5 Green and Blue Infrastructure 115 8.5.6 Retail 116 8.5.7 Community Facilities and Public Services 117 8.5.8 Built Form and Design 119 8.5.9 Services, Infrastructure & Energy Framework 121 8.5.10 Landscape and Open Space 121 8.5.11 Biodiversity and Natural Heritage 122 8.5.12 Character Areas 123 ______________________________________________________________________________ ABP-301962-18 An Bord Pleanála Page 4 of 219 Page 8.5.13 Phasing 124 8.5.14 Monitoring and Review 133 8.5.15 Funding and Implementation 134 8.6 Landowner/Developer Issues 134 8.6.1 Cairn Homes Properties Ltd. 134 8.6.2 Dietacaron 160 8.6.3 Everglade Properties Ltd. 164 8.6.4 National Asset Management Agency 174 8.6.5 Kelland Homes Ltd. 180 8.6.6 The Heapes Family 185 8.7 Considerations on Observations 187 8.7.1 Frances Fitzgerald TD 187 8.7.2 Clear Real Estate Investments PLC 187 8.7.3 Lucan Sarsfields CLG 187 8.7.4 Cllr Mark Ward 188 ______________________________________________________________________________ ABP-301962-18 An Bord Pleanála Page 5 of 219 Page 8.8 Miscellaneous Issues 188 8.8.1 The Setback from the Grand Canal 188 8.8.2 Corrections / Clarifications 189 8.8.3 Modifications vs Material Alterations 189 9.0 CONCLUSIONS 190 10.0 RECOMMENDATION 191 APPENDIX 1 – OUTLINE REPORT OF THE ORAL HEARING 201 ______________________________________________________________________________ ABP-301962-18 An Bord Pleanála Page 6 of 219 1.0 BACKGROUND 1.1 On 15th December, 2015, the Government approved the designation of 280 hectares of land at Balgaddy-Clonburris as a site for the establishment of a Strategic Development Zone (SDZ). The effect of this Order (S.I. No. 604 of 2015) is to revoke a 2006 Government Order (S.I. 442 of 2006) that designated 180 hectares of land at Clonburris as an SDZ. 1.2 The land area at Balgaddy-Clonburris, in accordance with section 4 of the Order, is designated as a site for the establishment of a Strategic Development Zone in accordance with the provisions of Part IX of the Planning and Development Act for residential development and the provision of schools and other educational facilities, commercial activities, including employment office, hotel, leisure and retail facilities, rail infrastructure, emergency services and the provision of community facilities, including health and childcare services. 1.3 The Draft Planning Scheme was published by South Dublin County Council in September 2017. The Scheme, along with Material and Non-Material Alterations, were adopted by South Dublin County Council on 19th June, 2019. 1.4 An Bord Pleanála is in receipt of 15 third party appeals and two observations in relation to this Planning Scheme. 2.0 DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT 2.1 The Site Location 2.1.1 The SDZ lands, consisting of approximately 281 hectares, are located to the west of Dublin City Centre and the M50, between the areas of Lucan, Clondalkin and Liffey Valley. The lands are bisected from east to west by the Kildare railway line ______________________________________________________________________________ ABP-301962-18 An Bord Pleanála Page 7 of 219 and to the south by the Grand Canal. They are also bisected in a north to south direction by two roads, the Grange Castle Road (also referred to as the Outer Ring Road) in the centre of the site and the Fonthill Road along the eastern side of the site. The R120 Newcastle Road forms the western boundary of the lands. The Adamstown SDZ is located adjacent to the north-west boundary of the lands. Grange Castle Business Park is located to the south and west of the Outer Ring Road. 2.1.2 The lands are primarily in agricultural land use. In recent years a primary and secondary school have been developed on the lands, Lucan East Educate Together National School off Griffeen Avenue and Kishoge Community College to the south of Thomas Omer Way. There are two traveller accommodation facilities within the lands - one west of the Outer Ring Road and south of the railway line at Kishoge Park and one east of the Outer Ring Road, south of Kishoge Community College and north of the Kildare railway line at Lynch’s Park. There are some private houses on the lands also. There are two constructed train stations within the SDZ - the Clondalkin-Fonthill station, which is operational, and the Kishoge station, which is not operational to date. 2.2 The Scheme 2.2.1 The development will involve the establishment of three Character Areas - Clonburris, Kishoge and Adamstown Extension. Clonburris and Kishoge will each focus around an urban centre established at the two points of highest accessibility within the SDZ lands, namely Clondalkin-Fonthill and Kishoge railway stations. Adamstown Extension will extend the community of Adamstown to the south-east and will be separated from Kishoge by parklands. The two urban centres are intended to be key focal areas for employment, civic, community, service and retail uses. The Clonburris retail core will operate as a ______________________________________________________________________________ ABP-301962-18 An Bord Pleanála Page 8 of 219 District Centre and the Kishoge retail core will operate as a Local Centre. Local Nodes with small scale service, retail, community and employment functions are identified at four Sub Sectors situated adjacent to planned parks and spaces, namely Grange, Clonburris Little, Gallanstown and Cappagh. 2.2.2 The development of the entire planning scheme is expected to deliver a target of 8,437 new residential units, a minimum of 7,300 sq.m gross community floor space, approximately 21,520 sq.m gross retail floorspace and between 30,000 and 40,000 sq.m employment floorspace. It is envisaged that the SDZ would support a population of approximately 21,000 people with approximately 2,400 jobs and 6,000 school places. The Scheme would also provide four primary and four post-primary schools. 2.2.3 The Planning Scheme proposals are developed in more detail at the scale of individual Development Areas (12 no.), with the potential extent of development set out for each Development Area. Land uses are subject to minimum and maximum floorspace and density target ranges for Development Areas and for Sub Sectors in the case of residential densities. The quantum of development for the overall Planning Scheme and per Development Area for both residential and non-residential development is set out in the Scheme. 2.2.4 Up to 10% of permissible non-residential floorspace in any Development Area, except for floorspace within the Clonburris and Kishoge Retail Cores and all community floorspace, may be transferred to one or more immediately adjoining Development Area(s) subject to meeting specified criteria. On the basis of the potential to complement uses within Grange Castle Business Park, up to a maximum of 215 residential units in the Kishoge South West Development Area may be substituted with a maximum of 21,500 sq.m of employment floorspace. 2.2.5 Other features to be provided as part of the Scheme include: ______________________________________________________________________________ ABP-301962-18 An Bord Pleanála Page 9 of 219 • A hierarchical street network, key junction improvements, and new junctions; • Five new bridges to enable north-south movement across the Grand Canal and the Kildare railway line and the upgrade of an existing pedestrian and cycle bridge to a Green Bridge at Hayden’s Lane; • Networks of green (land) and blue (water) infrastructure, with 90 hectares of parks and open spaces and 12.5km of cycleways and walkways; • Sites for primary and post primary schools; and • Reservation of a site for a fire station adjacent to Fonthill Road and Thomas Omer Way.