OLG – Here we go again, maybe…

It appears an application for a consultation regarding the prospective development of a 861 bed student residence development for the site at the rear of Our Lady’s Grove has been lodged with An Bord Pleanála.

This is the first stage the developer goes through with An Bord Pleanála for these fast-track (SHD) developments. If they are successful they can then go on to submit a full application.

A three party meeting will be taking place between the developer, the Board, and the Council. The Board then decides if the application can proceed. If not, the Board indicates to the developer what changes need to be made to allow the application to proceed. (To note – DLR Council would have already met with the developer separately a few months ago to discuss this potential planning application. It is not possible to get details of this meeting until/if the application proceeds. This meeting is called a Section 247 pre-SHD Consultation Meeting, and would be worth investigating considering the ruling on the Judicial Review had not yet been made at this point. So it will be interesting to see how the DLR Planners advised the developer, considering the Council was in court at this time in relation to the zoning on this very site.)

This decision (on whether the application can proceed) will be made by the Board before the 31/8/20. It is worth noting that the decision can also be made before this date. An Bord Pleanála can be contacted by phone at any time before this date, if you wish to check to see if the decision has been made, and if the application is going ahead. Quote this reference number: 307440. It is very disappointing that the public has no say or input, and is not given any information, regarding any of these pre-application stages in this SHD process.

You will see from the notice on the ABP website that the developer submitting this is Colbeam Ltd. A company called Hollybrook New Homes is the company behind Colbeam Ltd. We have no information as to the ownership status of the site.