Go-ahead for school on €23m greyhound stadium site

Planning permission has been granted for the first school on a planned education campus at a former Dublin greyhound stadium which was the subject of a controversial €23m purchase by the Department of Education.

The department has secured five-year approval for a temporary primary school building on part of the Harold’s Cross site in Dublin 6 on the southside of the city.

It is eventually intended to open a primary school for 624 pupils and a 1,000-student second-level school on the grounds.

The revelation of the sale price raised questions last year, as the €23m which the department agreed to pay matched almost exactly the outstanding debts of the Irish Greyhound Board (IGB).

The cancellation of racing at Harold’s Cross earlier last year drew protests from participants in the industry, leading to losses of revenue as racing at its landmark Shelbourne Park stadium in Dublin was disrupted.

It emerged last month that a valuation carried out for the IGB had put a market value of barely half the price eventually paid.

It said it was worth €12m if the land could be developed for housing, or just €6m if it remained with a planning zoning for recreational use.

Before the purchase was finalised in April, the Department of Education succeeded in getting members of Dublin City Council change the site’s zoning to allow for educational uses.

It then applied to the council in December for permission for a 12-classroom school on a car park inside the southside of the grounds.

It proposed that 52 pupils would be enrolled each of the five years for which it wants the permission to last.

The proposed provision of a pedestrian access to the temporary prefabricated school building from Grosvenor Lane prompted objections from residents concerned about the impact on access and traffic issues.

Within a week of receiving permission from Dublin City Council in April, then minister Richard Bruton had his officials sign contracts for the site acquisition.

The local authority decision was subsequently appealed to An Bord Pleanála, with concern around the pedestrian access being the main issue raised.

The board has now upheld the council’s approval and has granted planning permission subject to revised conditions, after the issues were considered by a planning inspector.

Following renewed controversy over the sale price last month, Education Minister Joe McHugh had his department publish the Valuation Office’s original April 2017 report and an update it has provided on current values in the area.

The minister acknowledged in the Dáil that the €3.8m per acre was a high price, but the Valuation Office update says there has been a number of €6m-per-acre transactions in Dublin 6 and Dublin 8 in the past year.