Oxley Holdings Ltd. Proposed Strategic Housing Development ‘The Connolly Quarter’ Rear of Connolly Station, Sheriff Street Lower, Dublin 1. VOLUME I NON – TECHNICAL SUMMARY OCTOBER 2019 Article 5(1)(e) of the EIA Directive requires the project proponent to include a Non-Technical Summary (NTS) of the Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) and it is transposed into Irish law under article 94(c) of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended. The term ‘non-technical’ indicates that this summary should not include technical terms, detailed data and scientific discussion, that detail is presented in Volume II, the EIAR. This Non-Technical Summary provides a concise, but comprehensive description of the Project, its existing environment, the effects of the project on the environment, the proposed mitigation measures, and the proposed monitoring arrangements, where relevant. The NTS highlights any significant uncertainties about the project. It explains the development consent process for the Project and the role of the EIA in that process. It is important to highlight that the assessments that form part of the EIAR were undertaken as an iterative process rather than a one-off, post-design environmental appraisal. Findings from the individual assessments have been fed into the design process, resulting in a project which achieves a ‘best fit’ within the environment. The development description is set out in Section 2, briefly summarised that Oxley Holdings Limited are applying for permission for a Strategic Housing Development (SHD) at a site adjacent to Connolly Station, Dublin 1, comprising of 741 no. Built to Rent (BTR) apartments in building blocks ranging in height from 4 to 23 storeys. See Figure 1. FIGURE 1 SITE LOCATION It is important to note that this application seeks permission for a c. 2.88-hectare site. However, the proposed residential units, residential support amenities, and all ancillary development is only proposed on the northern portion of the site. This application for permission essentially constitutes elements of an intended wider development proposal, that will include office and hotel blocks and will be subject to a separate section 34 application for permission and will be accompanied by an EIAR. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) requirements derive from EU Directives. Council Directive 2014/52/EU amended Directive 2011/92/EU and is transposed into Irish Law by the European Union (Planning and Development) (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2018. Proposed development which falls within one of the categories of development specified in Schedule 5 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended, which equals or exceeds, a limit, quantity or threshold prescribed for that class of development must be accompanied by an EIAR. The subject development does not fall within development classes set out in Part 1 of Schedule 5. It does however fall within development classes set out in Part 2 of Schedule 5, namely; 10b) (i) Construction of more than 500 dwellings The proposed development incorporates 741 No. Build to Rent residential units, thus triggering a requirement for a mandatory EIA. (iv) Urban development which would involve an area greater than 2 hectares in the case of a business district, 10 hectares in the case of other parts of a built-up area and 20 hectares elsewhere. (In this paragraph, “business district” means a district within a city or town in which the predominant land use is retail or commercial use.) Paragraph 15 of Part 2 is relevant; Any project listed in this Part which does not exceed a quantity, area of other limit specified in this Part in respect of the relevant class of development, but which would be likely to have significant effects on the environment, having regard to the criteria set out in Schedule 7. The subject site is ‘brownfield’ in nature and is currently used for car parking for CIE staff and commercial parking. The site contains a Protected Structure (Ref. No. 130) and 4 no. buildings/structures that will be demolished. The proposed development is an Infrastructure Project for and does exceed the thresholds established in 10(b)(i) and 10(b)(iv). Thus, the planning application for the proposed development is required to have an EIAR submitted. The EIAR determines if the proposed development either alone or in combination with other projects would be likely to have a significant effect on the environment. It is a requirement that the EIAR must be prepared by competent experts. For the preparation of this EIAR, Oxley Holdings Limited engaged McCutcheon Halley Chartered Planning Consultants to direct and coordinate the preparation of the EIAR and a team of qualified specialists were engaged to prepare individual chapters, the consultant firms and lead authors are listed in Table 1. Details of competency, qualifications and experience of the lead author of each discipline is outlined in the individual chapters. Chapter Aspect Consultant Lead Consultant 1 Introduction McCutcheon Halley Planning Paula Galvin Consultants Davin Aiken 2 Project Description McCutcheon Halley Planning Paula Galvin Consultants / McCrossan Davin AIken O’Rourke Manning Architects / CS Consulting Group / Hansfield Investments Ltd. 3 Alternatives Considered McCutcheon Halley Planning Paula Galvin Consultants / McCrossan Davin Aiken O’Rourke Manning Architects / Hansfield Investments Ltd. 4 Population and Human McCutcheon Halley Planning Paula Galvin Health Consultants Davin Aiken 5 Landscape & Visual Bernard Seymour Landscape Bernard Seymour Architects Arnaud Alatissiere 6 Material Assets: Traffic O'Connor, Sutton, Cronin Tony Horan Consulting Engineers Patrick Raggett 7 Material Assets: Built O'Connor, Sutton, Cronin Pat Moynihan Services Consulting Engineers 8 Land and Soils O'Connor, Sutton, Cronin Eleanor Burke Consulting Engineers 9 Water and Hydrology O'Connor, Sutton, Cronin Niall McMenamin Consulting Engineers 10 Biodiversity Openfield Ecology Pádraic Fogarty Bat Ecoservices Tina Aughney 11 Noise and Vibration Irwin Carr Consulting Shane Carr 12 Air Quality and Climate 13 Cultural Heritage – IAC Archaeology Faith Bailey Archaeology Grace Corbett 14 Cultural Heritage - Hogan Architect Clare Hogan Architecture 15 Interactions of the McCutcheon Halley Planning Paula Galvin Foregoing Consultants Davin Aiken 16 Summary of Mitigation Measures TABLE 1 CHAPTERS OF EIAR & CONTRIBUTORS In preparing the EIAR the following regulations and guidelines were considered: • The requirements of applicable EU Directives and implementing Irish Regulations regarding Environmental Impact Assessment; • Environmental Impact Assessment of Projects Guidance on the preparation of the Environmental Impact Assessment Report (European Commission, 2017) • Guidelines on the Information to be Contained in Environmental Impact Assessment Reports – DRAFT (Environmental Protection Agency, August 2017). • Guidelines for Planning Authorities and An Bord Pleanála on carrying out Environmental Impact Assessment (Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, 2018). In addition, specialist disciplines have had regard to other relevant guidelines, and where relevant these are noted in individual chapters of the EIAR. Each chapter of this EIAR assesses the direct, indirect, cumulative and residual impact of the proposed development for both the construction and operational stage of the proposed development. The identified quality, significance and duration of effects for each aspect is largely based on the terminology set out in the EPAs Draft Guidelines on the information to be contained in Environmental Impact Assessment Reports (2017) as summarised as follows: Quality of Effect Positive A change which improves the quality of the environment (for example, by increasing species diversity; or the improving reproductive capacity of an ecosystem, or by removing nuisances or improving amenities Neutral No effects or effects that are imperceptible, within normal bounds of variation or within the margin of forecasting error Negative/Adverse A change which reduces the quality of the environment (for example, lessening Effects species diversity or diminishing the reproductive capacity of an ecosystem; or damaging health or property or by causing nuisance) Significance of Effect Imperceptible An effect capable of measurement but without significant consequences. Not Significant An effect which causes noticeable changes in the character of the environment but without significant consequences Slight Effect An effect which causes noticeable changes in the character of the environment without affecting its sensitivities. Moderate Effect An effect that alters the character of the environment in a manner that is consistent with existing and emerging baseline trends. Significant Effect An effect which, by its character, magnitude, duration or intensity alters a sensitive aspect of the environment. Very Significant Effect An effect which, by its character, magnitude, duration or intensity significantly alters most of a sensitive aspect of the environment. Profound Effect An effect which obliterates sensitive characteristics. Duration of Effects Momentary Seconds to minutes Brief Less than 1 day Temporary Less than 1 year Short-term 1-7 years Medium-term 7-15 years Long-term 15-60 years Permanent Over 60 years Extent & Context of Effects Extent Describe the size of the area, the number of sites, and the proportion of a population affected by an effect. Context Describe whether the extent, duration,