Plans to build 210 co-living units on the site of Brady’s pub on the old Navan Road should be blocked, according to Labour TD Joan Burton.
The proposal for the Dublin 15 site by Bartra Properties has attracted strong opposition from local residents and public representatives.
Labour Cllr John Walsh also called for the rejection of the scheme by An Bord Pleanala amid claims it will “remove, real homes from Dublin 15”.
He told Dublin Gazette: “This site already has permission for a substantial number of apartments, but instead the developer wants to squeeze in 210 bed spaces.
“These will be so small that they hardly deserve to be called bed sits… by any standard it amounts to over-development on this site and would be totally out of keeping with the surrounding area.”
Fingal County Council has received notification of Bartra’s Strategic Housing Development (SHD) application to An Bord Pleanala.
Councillors will be given details of the application at their next area meeting, along with the opinion of An Bord Pleanala.
Cllr Tania Doyle (Ind) warned: “This form of development is simply not sustainable. It brings nothing solid to the community.” She said it offered no hope to young people hoping to buy a house, adding that a developer in Hansfield had linked up in the past with rent-only firm Iris Reit.
Cllr Doyle, added: “I am worried that this won’t be the last we see of this type of development in Dublin 15.”
Bartra proposes demolishing the existing two-storey pub and restaurant, and constructing a five-storey “build to rent shared living residential development”.
The site notice describes a 6,549sqm scheme divided into 210 “bedspaces” with 182 single occupancy rooms, four accessible rooms and 12 double rooms.
The property will also include “communal living/kitchen/dining rooms at each floor level”, a “tv/cinema room at basement level”, a gymnasium, library and roof terrace.
Deputy Burton said: “Co-living developments simply prevent the building of real homes for Dublin 15. It is fundamentally wrong and misguided to suggest that substandard housing of this kind will solve the housing crisis.”
The application can be viewed at – www.bartrablanchardstownshd.com
