Stocking Wood & Abbots Grove Object to Local SHDs

UPDATE - October 2021: 

An Bord Pleanala have granted planning permission for Ballycullen SHD.  This consists of 329 housing units – 140 houses and four 5 storey apartment blocks  It is planned for the lands behind Stocking Wood and Abbots Grove.  This has been hurried through the Strategic Housing Development (SHD) process by An Bord Pleanala. 

The only option open to us now is to appeal this decision by An Bord Pleanala through the High Court Judicial Review process. Our next step is to engage the services of a solicitor to advise if we have solid legal grounds under which to appeal. This step must be completed within 8 weeks of An Bord Pleanala's approval,  It is then presented to a Judge, who will confirm whether we have adequate grounds for a JR appeal and provide us with the leave we require to move to the next stage and plead our case. Significantly, this stops all development work on the site until the case is heard. 

Further to our initial fundraising, a target of €3,500 is now required to fund the legal scoping and establish our grounds for appeal. 

From there on, it will go to the High Court, where our Judicial Review will be heard. This is the only option open to us. It's an expensive one - and we need the local community to pull together to help contribute to the costs. 

Once proceeding to Judicial Review, we will have a fundraising target of approx. €25,000 to €30,000 to cover our legal costs.  Judicial Reviews against SHD developments have a very high success rate and we believe we have solid legal grounds to pursue.

If the planning permission on this development is allowed to go through unchallenged against the interests of our community, it sets a dangerous precedent - other developments around South Dublin will be targets for this level of ill considered overdevelopment. However, if we win this Judicial Review, it will also set a precedent – that the needs of our community are important and must be considered.

We are raising this amount to cover our legal costs. This is not a small sum, but spread across our whole community it can be done, so lean in and be part our team. Anything you contribute will be immensely helpful to this just cause.

Let’s come together as a community.........for the sake of our community


If you wish to review all the objections/observations that have been submitted to An Bord Pleanala in assessing the submission, please refer to the Submissions at the following link. Submissions of particular note are the "Ballyboden Tidy Towns Group" and "Abbots Grove Residents Group" submissions. 
http://www.sdublincoco.ie/Planning/Details?regref=SHD3ABP-310578-21 

Also if you wish to help and assess any errors within the An Bord Pleanala - Inspector's Report that is to advise on how An Bord Pleanala have reached their decision, refer to the following link:
https://www.pleanala.ie/anbordpleanala/media/abp/cases/reports/310/r310578.pdf?r=268421813079 




Why are we fundraising?

Ballycullen SHD is the just the latest in a series of Strategic Housing Developments submitted to An Bord Pleanála for the Stocking Avenue Area. The past 15 months has seen plans for Taylors Lane SHD, Stocking Lane SHD and White Pines East SHD submitted to An Bord Pleanála and Scholarstown SHD commenced construction (former Cosgrave lands).

White Pines Central SHD is another very local SHD that residents in the area are currently objecting to. (see below for more details on these SHDs)

Ballycullen SHD is comprised of 329 housing units – 140 houses and four 5 storey apartment blocks. It is planned for the lands behind Stocking Wood and Abbots Grove. The plan proposes to provide vehicular access via Abbots Grove Avenue roundabout and Stocking Wood Drive, with pedestrian routes through Stocking Wood Copse and Abbots Grove Park (two locations).

 

What is a Strategic Housing Development?

An SHD is a fast track planning application for 100 units or more that bypasses the local authority for its planning permission. The private developer submits their application directly to An Bord Pleanála (ABP) thus ensuring there is no appeal mechanism unlike normal applications. The private developer has secret tripartite meetings with An Bord Pleánala and the Local Authority. Members of the public and prescribed bodies such as An Taisce are never invited to participate in these secret meetings.

 

Most SHDs are granted planning permission by ABP, regardless, if they contravene the Local Authority County Development Plan and even when the Local Authority objects to ABP. Many commentators believe that there is a ‘rubber stamping’ of SHD planning applications as opposed to the required ‘appropriate assessment’ of applications by An Bord Pleánala. Just 15% of applications granted by ABP are legally challenged by groups/individuals due to the prohibitive costs involved and of those 90% have their decisions reversed by the High Court.

 

How can we help?

Abbots Grove and Stocking Wood Residents are teaming up with Ballyboden Tidy Towns and White Pines Residents to object to this latest SHD- Ballycullen SHD. To do this, we need raise the funds to hire planning, traffic, legal consultants and an ecologist to prepare a submission to be submitted to An Bord Pleanála.

Ballyboden Tidy Towns have already engaged some of these professionals on behalf of Abbots Grove and Stocking Wood. 

 

Ballyboden Tidy Towns have previously worked with other resident groups to hire the above-mentioned professionals, in order to object to the other local SHDs. This includes working with White Pines residents to object to two other SHDs right on our doorstep - White Pines East and White Pines Central. They have just made a submission against White Pines Central SHD on the 6th of July.  After fighting these two SHDs within weeks of each other, some costs for consultancy and legal fees are still outstanding. Therefore, donations from this fundraiser will go towards fighting the Ballycullen SHD as well as contributing towards the remaining costs from the White Pines' SHDs. This is because we strongly believe that these SHDs affect the entire community and we must come together to do what we can to stop them.

All contributions matter.

We have a very tight timeline of 2 weeks to do this, the final date for submissions for the Ballycullen SHD is 26th July 2021.

 

Brief outline of other local SHDs:

White Pines Central SHD: (submissions sent in 6th July 2021 )

114 'Build-to-Rent' apartments units across 6 separate blocks ranging from 3-6 storeys in height.

 

White Pines East SHD: (awaiting decision by 19th July)

The construction of 241 residential units, in 5 apartment blocks, ranging in height from 4-6 storeys, and 3 three storey duplex block. A dedicated community building space comprising 552sq.m will also be provided on the ground floor of Block A.

 

Stocking Lane SHD: (Permission denied)

131 residential units including: 21 houses, 51 duplex apartment units in seven blocks of up to three-storeys, 59 apartment units in three apartment blocks up to four-storeys; A creche of c. 128sq.m, shop of c. 65sq.m

 

Taylors Lane SHD: (awaiting Judicial Review Decision - court date set for November 2021)

Construction of 496 residential units within 3 apartment/duplex blocks ranging in height from 2-7 storeys.

 

How does the Ballycullen SHD affect Stocking Wood and Abbots Grove?

• This SHD breaches the SDCC County Development Plan and Local Area Plan and all of these breaches can be found in the 20 pages of the Material Contravention Statement. http://www.sdublincoco.ie/Planning/ViewDocument?fileId=6518901

 

• The apartment blocks all exceed the Local Area Plans maximum height specification of 12 metres. In some places they are almost 17 metres above ground level.

 

• The apartment blocks range from 2-5 storeys in height and are planned for mid and upper slope lands. The Local Area plan specifies buildings should not exceed 2 storey at mid-slope, 1 story at upper slope and states that apartments and duplexes are not permissible on upper slope lands.

 

• In addition to this, the apartment blocks are located on the steepest part of the site, to allow for an underground car-park to be built.

 

• These blocks on such an elevated site will obliterate the protected view and mountain skyline of the Dublin Mountains.

 

• According to the Local Area Plan, Apartments and duplexes are not permissible on the upper slope of the Local Area Plan Lands.

 

• Dwellings planned for the Local Area Plan lands should be a minimum of 90% houses. This development is 57% apartments and duplexes. 

 

• It poses a health and pollution risk because the existing sewerage system cannot cope with the level of permitted developments in the area let alone the burden of another SHD.

 

• Overwhelm local amenities, schools and local childcare, play & recreational areas.

 

• Our local road infrastructure is already at capacity according to SDCC so instead of dealing with the existing traffic gridlock, this will SHD will induce/attract more congestion.

 

• Our lands are owned by our management companies. If the plan is granted permission, but both Abbots Grove and Stocking Avenue refuse permission for pedestrian and vehicular access, it is possible that the Abbots Grove Avenue entrance could essential become another Woodstown roundabout, with residents from both estates using this one access point for entry and exit.

 

• This SHD will swamp existing local public transport - there is no confirmation of any increased services to deal with current demand let alone additional demand.

 

• Increase risk of flooding for neighbouring estates along Stocking Avenue, Stocking Lane and Scholarstown Road. We already experience issues with surface water and drainage in Stocking Wood and Abbots Grove.

 

• Irreversibly damage the ecological habitat of the local area by the extensive removal of existing mature trees and hedgerows that house numerous wildlife species including bats (protected by EU and national laws), birds and deer. 

 

• The removal of such Natural Linkages and Green Infrastructure is contrary to the SDCC Climate Action Plan.

 

While the points mentioned above refer to the Ballycullen SHD specifically, the majority of them can applied to White Pines East and White Pines Central. Multiplied by three, if permission is granted, our local area would drastically change forever.

If any of these SHDs get approved, it sets a precedent for more high rise buildings high density development in our area.

 

Our Local Area Plan does not envisage up to 6 storey apartment blocks along Stocking Avenue. We did not envisage this kind of development for our area when we bought here. High rise apartments such as these do not belong at the foothills of the Dublin Mountains. Yes our country needs more affordable housing, but these SHDs that contravene Local Area Plans, are not the answer to that.

 

The full planning files for these SHDs are available online by clicking the links below:

Ballycullen SHD: http://www.sdublincoco.ie/Planning/Details?regref=SHD3ABP-310578-21

White Pines Central SHD: http://www.sdublincoco.ie/Planning/Details?regref=SHD3ABP-310398-21

White Pines East SHD: http://www.sdublincoco.ie/Planning/Details?regref=SHD3ABP-309836-21