COMHAIRLE CHONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF TALLAGHT AREA COMMITTEE 2
Monday, November 27, 2006
QUESTION NO 23
QUESTION: Councillor J. Neville
"To ask the Manager to confirm that the granting of Planning Application SDO6A/0654 on the 22nd of September, 2006 (subject to an appeal to An Bord Pleanala) is consistent with the Manager's Recommendation 7 in the Tallaght Master Plan which was adopted by this Council on July 17th, 2006 and will the Manager outline the Statutory position of such a Masterplan?"
REPLY
The permission recently granted at the Square is an improved version of the permission originally granted by SDCC in 2000 and An Bord Pleanala in 2001. Throughout the Town Centre Plan preparation process, the Square permission was extant i.e. remained valid and there was every indication that the relevant parties wished to proceed with it subject to various legal matters which had to be resolved. In preparing the Town Centre Plan, SDCC openly supported the permission, which had been originally negotiated and granted. The Town Centre Plan was prepared on the assumption that this extant and desirable permission would be implemented.
The Proposed Town Centre Plan was prepared against this background and when the permission lapsed in February 2006, extensive discussion had been ongoing about a resubmission, which was by then imminent. In negotiating a revised submission, SDCC had taken the opportunity to further improve the development in a number of ways, including a new street link, more active ground floor frontage and better orientated apartments. SDCC remained supportive of the concept of a new town square and a significant intensity of development at this location. This is reflected in the Plan document itself in Section 6.5 Transitional Arrangements.
At the time of publication of the Proposed Local Area Plan (April 2006), there were two cases where planning applications for significant development were imminent/current further to pre-planning discussion with the Planning Authority. These were the Square Phase III site immediately north of the Square Shopping Centre and the site immediately northwest of the junction of the Greenhills Road Extension and the N81. Planning permission was previously granted for development on each site.
These previous permissions broadly complied with the objectives of the proposed Local Area Plan. The Square Phase III permission lapsed in February 2006. In both cases, revised proposals were discussed with and planning applications formulated on the basis of contact with the Planning Authority. Planning applications were subsequently granted with conditions on both sites. Both applications are currently on appeal.
The Town Centre Plan maps also reflect this. In addition, a color 3D graphic showing the proposed extension to The Square is illustrated in the Plan on Page 22, see below. While the recent application as submitted included part at 9 storeys, this was reduced to 8 stories by condition. A decision to grant permission was made on the 22nd September 2006 and is now on appeal.
The Tallaght Town Centre Proposed Local Area Plan was adopted by the Council on the 10th October 2006 and this Plan now has statutory status. The development as granted is in compliance with the Local Area Plan (LAP) as paragraph 6.5 of the Local Area Plan specifically provided for transitional arrangements as discussed above.