Court sends back plan for 500 homes on pitches

St Paul’s College, Raheny, uses the land as pitches. Photo: Frank McGrath

Tim Healy

August 01 2018 02:30 AM

The High Court has sent a controversial planning application for a development of 500 housing units in north Dublin back to An Bord Pleanála for a fresh consideration.

The application concerns the board's decision to give Crekav Trading, part of developer Marlet, the go-ahead for 104 houses and 432 apartments on lands used as six playing pitches by St Paul's College, in Raheny.

The planning application was made directly, under a fast-track process for large housing projects, by the developer to the board which accepted that it made an error in its decision to give it the go-ahead.

A number of parties sought to have the decision quashed on grounds including that it is fundamentally flawed.

They included Clonres CLG, which represents residents from the Clontarf area, as well as environmental campaigner Peter Sweetman, and John Conway and the Louth Environmental Group.

The objectors also brought proceedings against the State and the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in respect of the decision.

Mr Justice David Barniville said that it was "appropriate to remit the application to the board" after he made a formal order quashing the decision to grant planning permission.

A failure to remit the matter would give rise to "an unnecessary and disproportionate delay in finalising the statutory process" and would be "unnecessarily and disproportionately onerous on the developer".

He was remitting it no further back in the process than is necessary to undo the consequences of the invalidity conceded by the board.