O’Reilly plans 479 homes at south Dublin site

Developer Joe O’Reilly’s Castlethorn has lodged plans for a €192 million, 479-residential unit scheme for a site at Shanganagh, Shankill, in south Co Dublin.

In the Large Scale Residential Development plans lodged with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Castlethorn subsidiary Aeval UC is seeking a seven-year permission for the development.

The scheme comprises a mix of houses, duplexes and apartments in nine blocks ranging in height from two to seven storeys at lands east of the Old Dublin Road that are zoned “New Residential” in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Development Plan 2022–2028.

The development on a 18.8-acre site is proposed to extend north of Woodbrook Phase 1, which is currently under construction.

Planning consultants Stephen Little & Associates have told the council that “our client owns the majority of the Woodbrook lands, and is keen to progress the second phase of residential development and the Woodbrook neighbourhood centre which is intended to create a new retail and community hub for this emerging new settlement”.

The scheme is made up of 320 apartments and 30 duplexes in nine buildings along with 105 two- to three-storey houses consisting of 63 three-bedroom houses and 42 four-bedroom houses.

The scheme will also provide three retail units, a cafe/restaurant unit and a community resource area within a proposed mixed-use neighbourhood centre.

As part of its Part V social housing requirements Aeval has put an indicative price tag of €38.49 million on the planned sale of 101 apartments to the council for social housing.

In a 133-page planning report lodged with the application Stephen Little & Associates state that the scheme “represents a well-designed and thought out development which achieves a sustainable density of residential development”.

The report states that the scheme in an accessible outer suburban location “is supported by local centre, retail, restaurant and community facilities and extensive high quality new public realm”.

The report also states that the proposed development “will provide significant additional amenities to the residents of Woodbrook in the form of a dedicated neighbourhood centre incorporating an anchor convenience supermarket, two additional retail units and a dedicated cafe/restaurant unit, as well as a significant quantum of high-quality public open space which will serve as a key focal point within Woodbrook”.

The Stephen Little & Associates planning report also note that the proposed development provides innovative housing types to achieve a compact layout and densities appropriate to the geographical location, while the proposed residential element will provide additional critical mass to support the development of a future Dart station.