D4 residents object to new Denis O’Brien apartments plan

A group of residents in Dublin 4 are opposing fresh plans by a property firm backed by businessman Denis O’Brien for a new €50m luxury apartment block development.

The group of 30 residents from the adjoining Nutley Square in Donnybrook have lodged a comprehensive objection against the new planning application by Mr O’Brien’s Purleigh Holdings Ltd.

Last month, An Bord Pleanála had given the go-ahead to Purleigh to construct 71 apartments in five stand-alone white pavilion blocks, at Greenfield in Donnybrook.

The appeals board upheld a Dublin City Council decision to grant planning permission for the development despite opposition from the Nutley Square residents.

Mr O’Brien acquired the site from UCD as part of a deal in which he gave the university €15m, as well as a three-acre site at Roebuck.

However, Mr O’Brien’s Purleigh in a bid to maximise the return on the investment has now lodged plans for 90 apartments in blocks of five storeys.

Consultants for Purleigh, Hughes Planning and Development Consultants, have told the city council that the height of the plan has increased from 13.8 metres to 16 metres “seeks to deliver a high-quality residential development at a scale and density which makes the most efficient use of serviced land within Dublin’s metropolitan area”.

In the residents’ objection, Patrick Clery - secretary of the Nutley Square Management Company - has told the council: “We consider the proposed development does nothing to protect, provide or improve the residential amenities of our neighbourhood.”

Mr Clery claims the proposal “is incompatible in relation to character, height and density with existing developments in the area”.