Submissions to have a new Dublin suburb development of nearly 3,000 homes consist entirely of public housing have been rejected by council planners.
Councillors passed a Local Area Plan (LAP) Park West-Cherry Orchard allowing apartment blocks up to 10 storeys high over a 46 hectare area in the west of the city .
The monthly meeting heard that up 2,920 apartments and houses could be built in eight separate sites and density could be increased further by the use of shared accommodation or build to rent schemes.
Local People Before Profit representatives wanted all the units to be public housing while Sinn Féin wanted private housing to make up just 10%.
However Chief Executive Owen Keegan said the original scheme which was adopted by the council specifically aimed to provide private housing as a way of improving the balance of tenure and income.
He said that at the moment the area has just 26% owner occupier and 6% private rental which means less opportunity to buy or rent in the area.
“The correlation with economic status and disposable income also has an impact on the ability to sustain commercial shops and services, essential to meet the local demands of everyone,” he stated.
The different tenures in the LAP will include 10% social, affordable/co-operative housing, housing for senior citizens, special needs, private housing and cost-rental.
Source – RTE
