Movement on 142 apartment development in Dundalk granted planning in 2019
Applicant seeking permission for modifications to permitted development
A Strategic Housing Development (SHD) at the Inner Relief Road in Dundalk comprising 142 apartments, that was granted planning permission by An Bord Pleanála (ABP) in 2019, has seen movement in recent days, with the applicant, JC Van Dijk, seeking planning permission for modifications to the permitted SHD.
An Bord Pleanála granted planning permission in 2019 for the development, which comprised 58 one bedroom, 64 two bedroom and 20 three bedroom apartments, in five buildings ranging in height from two to five storey on a site measuring 2.16 hectares.
A crèche and community room together with parking, roadways and ancillary site works are included in the plans, as well as a new vehicular access via a roadway and new entrance off the R215 Inner Relief Road and a dedicated pedestrian/cycle link to Dublin Road (R132).
The SHD process was introduced in 2017 by the government, to help speed up the planning application process and the delivery of larger housing and student accommodation developments. SHDs applications went directly to An Bord Pleanála for decision, and could not be appealed.
The Large-scale Residential Development (LRD) process was introduced in 2021 to replace the SHD process. This restores the two-stage planning process, with decision making for LRD applications returning to the local planning authority in the first instance, with the subsequent right of appeal to An Board Pleanála.
The LRD process is as follows: An LRD Meeting Request is made with the local planning authority as part of the process when seeking planning permission for an LRD. Following the receipt of LRD consultation request, the planning authority is required to facilitate a consultation meeting with the applicant within four weeks of the date receipt of such a request.
Following the LRD Meeting, there is a period of four weeks for the planning authority to issue an LRD opinion on whether the proposals constitute a reasonable basis for submitting a planning application on the LRD proposals. This LRD opinion is valid for six months.
A planning application must then be submitted within six months of receipt of an LRD opinion. The developer must make the application documentation available for public viewing on a dedicated website set up for this purpose.
With regards to the Inner Relief Road SHD development, Louth County Council issued an LRD opinion on 21 May, in relation to JC Van Dijk's proposed LRD planning application seeking modifications to the development granted permission in 2019. No further information is available at present in relation to the planned modifications.