Lansdowne Road gets planning green light

THE members of An Bord Pleanála were unanimous in their decision to grant permission for the construction of a new Lansdowne Road stadium — despite a recommendation of refusal by its own inspector.

While the board has imposed 23 conditions the original application remains essentially intact and the developers are still aiming for completion of the project by the end of 2009.

There is no reduction in the proposed 50,000 all-seater capacity or any restriction on the number of sporting events.

The board said three concerts could take place at the venue, the same number as allowed at Croke Park.

Matches and concerts will have to be over and the lights off by 11pm, and fans will no longer be able to access the stadium from Havelock Square and O’Connell Gardens.

However, the size of the project, which had caused the most controversy for local residents, remains relatively untouched.

“The board concluded that the residual impacts on residential property would not be sufficient to warrant a refusal of permission and did not agree with the inspector’s conclusion that permission should be refused on this account,” the board said in its report.

It said that given the historical and long-established use of Lansdowne Road site as an international football stadium, its location close to the city centre of Dublin, in immediate proximity to good quality public transport facilities including the DART line, it felt it was the right decision.

“In deciding not to accept the inspector’s recommendation to refuse permission, the board was not satisfied that a more suitable site for a stadium can currently be provided, having regard to considerations of transportation, access and availability,” it said.

Frances Corr, chairwoman of the Bath Avenue and District Resident Association — one of three main residents groups opposed to aspects of the new stadium — said they were disappointed but not surprised at the decision to ignore the inspector’s recommendation.

“That seems to be the trend these days. We do not think we are being treated very fairly. They have given us nothing.”

She said they will consider the decision over the weekend and decide their next course of action on Monday. They are not ruling out a High Court appeal.

The decision comes nearly four years after plans for a new stadium were mooted and two-and-a-half years after the plans were first lodged with Dublin City Council.

The Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company said it was delighted.

“While we always believed we had a very strong planning permission from Dublin City Council we could not be certain as to the final decision by An Bord Pleanála. We believe that today’s decision is recognition of the fact that we consulted widely on the project and, where possible, tried to address the concerns of the local community in our final design. We fully appreciate that there are conditions that need to be met but we are confident that we can meet these.”

Sports Minister John O’Donoghue said: “This is an enormously important decision which will benefit the development of sport in Ireland. The way has now been cleared to develop a stadium which will meet the needs of the modern games of rugby and soccer while also providing a wonderful platform to showcase the talent of our international teams to the world.

“Today’s decision also means we can begin to seriously engage UEFA in relation to its announcement last year to host either a Champions League or UEFA Cup Final in the stadium, when it is completed.”

FAI chief executive John Delaney said: “It cannot be underestimated what has happened. It is a momentous day for both sports and Irish sport and it is onwards and upwards from here.”