The following report was noted at the Tallaght Area Committee on 31^st March 2008.

“Introduction

The owners of Woodtown Manor House and its surrounding holding have requested an opportunity to give a briefing to Members on the above proposal.  The owners propose to develop a retirement home scheme on part of the lands in and around the Woodtown Manor House.  It is envisaged that the retirement village complex would consist of some 100 units.

Woodtown Manor House is part of an overall holding of some 52 hectares.  It is proposed to develop approximately 7.6 hectares of this land in the immediate vicinity of the House for the retirement homes complex.  The site is located to the north of the Kilakee Road and to the south of lands currently being developed as part of the Ballycullen-Oldcourt Action Area Plan.

The site on which it is proposed to develop the retirement homes scheme is located within an area zoned ‘B’ in the County Development Plan 2004-2010 in relation to which it is an objective - ‘To protect and improve rural amenity and to provide for the development of agriculture’. 

A Specific Local Objective (SLO 116) is contained in the Development Plan relating to the Woodtown Manor site. 

SLO 116 states as follows:

“Facilitate a hotel development and associated leisure uses at the existing Woodtown Manor House, Stocking Lane, Rathfarnham subject to:

Ø       Due consideration being given to ensuring the conservation of historic, architectural and archaeological features of existing buildings and site.

Ø       The agreed principle of prohibiting clusters of development above the 120 metre contour being strictly observed and

Ø       That any grant of permission to develop the hotel and leisure element of the site include a provision for the adequate upgrading of Stocking Lane to meet the requirements of the extra traffic generated by such development.”

Woodtown Manor House is on the Council’s Record of Protected Structures (RPS ref. 363). 

Recent Planning History

Planning permission was granted by An Bord Pleanala for a hotel on the site on 20^th January, 2004.  The planning application was described thus -

“Hotel development comprising 120 bedrooms over three-storeys including conference, leisure, ancillary hotel facilities and associated car parking, change of use of Woodtown Manor (a protected structure) from residential to hotel use including the conversion of the stable buildings to hotel apartment use (six number suites), demolition of single storey semi-derelict outbuildings, and a temporary wastewater treatment plan, as revised by public notices received by the planning authority on the 3^rd day of June, 2003 to provide for the partial removal of a three-storey block involving the removal of 22 number bedrooms, the retention of single storey semi-derelict outbuildings and the subsequent movement of the surrounding development 14 metres approximately from the protected structure in a south-east direction; the reconfiguration of the car parking layout including the movement of 116 number spaces to the rear (east) of the hotel, the reduction of the  number of car parking spaces from 350 to 328, all at Woodtown Manor, Woodtown, Stocking Lanes, Rathfarnham, Dublin”.  

It has been stated by the developers that despite several efforts they been unable to interest any hotel operator in the permitted hotel project as the market is well catered for.  Accordingly the alternative proposal for the retirement homes development is being proposed.

Proposed Development  

Briefly the retirement homes development would include –

• Restore and re-use the protected Woodtown Manor House.  Within the House it is proposed to develop a public restaurant and also include facilities for doctor, nurse, private dining room, within an area of landscaped grounds etc.  It is also proposed to restore the courtyard and walled garden area.
• Develop a health and wellbeing and fitness suite including a swimming pool – this would be open to the public
• Homes would be restricted to persons over 55 years of age and be suitable for disabled residents
• The 100 homes would range in scale from 1 to 3 storeys in height.
• Nursing and specialist medical care would be for residents
• The new complex is stated to be smaller in scale and would be less intrusive than the previously permitted hotel development
• The new complex is stated to require less car parking and would involve less tree felling than the hotel development
• Given that the homes would be restricted to persons over 55 years of age a Deed of Covenant under Section 47 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 would be entered into with the Council regarding this.  The landowner has agreed to this. The Deed would regulate and control the use of the land to a retirement complex with continuity of medical and other support services and each residential unit within it to the qualification of user. 
• Provide a public right of way through the grounds so that residents in the vicinity can cross the lands and access the uplands in the vicinity.

County Development Plan 2004-2010

Given that -

• the lands on which it is proposed to develop the retirement homes scheme are zoned ‘B’ in the County Development Plan 2004-2010 where it is an objective - ‘To protect and improve rural amenity and to provide for the development of agriculture’
• the existing Specific Local Objective (SLO 116) is related to facilitating a hotel development and associated leisure uses at Woodtown Manor House.  The proposed retirement homes scheme would not be in accordance with the SLO
• the proposal would require a new Specific Local Objective; replacing the existing SLO with one which would facilitate the provision of the retirement homes complex

the development of the proposed 100 homes scheme would therefore necessitate the making of a Variation of the Development Plan.

Proposed Variation

A Proposed Variation would involve -

a)       the deletion of the existing Specific Local Objective (SLO 116) in the Development Plan and

b)       its replacement with a new SLO along the following lines:

“Facilitate a retirement homes scheme at the existing Woodtown Manor House, Stocking Lane, Rathfarnham subject to:

Ø       Due consideration being given to ensuring the conservation of historic, architectural and archaeological features of existing buildings and site

Ø       The development of a maximum of 100 retirement homes

Ø       The homes being restricted to persons over 55 years of age and being suitable for disabled residents

Ø       The completion of a Deed of Covenant under Section 47 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended) with the Council regarding the regulation and control of the use of the land to a retirement complex with continuity of medical and other support services and each residential unit within it to the qualification of user

Ø       Certain identified facilities in the scheme being made available for general public use including the restaurant and leisure facilities

Ø       The provision and maintenance of a public right of way through the lands of Woodtown Manor House (and agreed in a Section 47 Agreement) so that the general public can cross the lands and access the uplands in the vicinity and

Ø       The inclusion in any grant of permission to develop the retirement homes scheme of appropriate provision(s) for the adequate upgrading of Stocking Lane to meet the requirements of the extra traffic generated by such development.”

Ø       The inclusion in any grant of permission of a condition requiring the allocation of 10% of the residential units provided, to persons over the age of 55 years who would otherwise qualify for social / affordable housing under Part 5 of the Planning Acts 2000 – 2006 – such allocations to be made preferably by an approved housing association.”

 END OF COMMITTEE REPORT

The Committee recommended that the applicant be informed of the members requirement that 15% of Social/Affordable Residential units be provided, before the report came before the Council.

The applicant has confirmed in writing his acceptance of this requirement.

Accordingly it is recommended to the Council that the statutory procedure for the making of a variation to the County Development Plan be initiated on this basis".