An Bord Pleanala’s direction on building height appalls developers

It is not possible for anyone to discern the true meaning of An Bord Pleanala initially. The ideal meaning of this term in the English language is The Planning Board. Well, the name is quite famed in the soil of Ireland since it is an independent statutory administrative tribunal that decides on appeals from planning decisions made by local authorities in the country. Moreover, The Planning Board directly decides major strategic infrastructural projects under the provisions of the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006. Whatever it is, the latest direction of the board has created tension among the developers of Dublin.

All these came out recently only after it directed a well-known developer to stick to the maximum height limit of nine storeys. It has been learnt that the very developer was contriving to build a 15-storey tower beside Sean Dunne’s rejected development. It would have certainly been better, had this been the only instance so far. However, unfortunate it is, it is not. Take for instance Ray Grehan, the former UCD Veterinary School site beside Jury’s/Berkerley Court. He was also advised recently to make revisions in his scheme and abide by the height of nearby nine-storey Hume House as a reference point.

All these indicate that Mr. Grehan has to do everything again from scratch. It must be kept in mind that he is no trivial personality and was instrumental in overwhelming Mr Dunne’s record price by paying €171.5m for the site in 2005. He did put forward the proposal of building 109 apartments, 20,000 square metres of office space, retail units and a cultural quarter. But he is doomed at present and has to redesign the entire framework yet again. It is set that the new proposal has to be submitted by the end of March.

It is, again, destined that new proposals in a document called ‘Maximising the City’s Potential’ are likely to be made public for consultation next month and the councilors will vote on it in May. There is a speculation that this document may make the present direction a rule.