A High Court challenge has been brought against An Bord Pleanála's decision to grant planning permission for a South Co Dublin development of over 380 new housing units.
The action has been brought by the Monkstown Road Residents Association, and Richard Tempany, who lives near the proposed development, located at Dalguise, Monkstown Road, Monkstown, Co Dublin.
Permission to build 387 mainly built-to-let apartments and ancillary development was granted by the board to GEDV Monkstown Owner Limited in February.
The judicial review action has been brought over concerns that the proposed development may adversely impact the local wastewater system and the nearby popular bathing area at Seapoint.
Concerns have also been raised about the development's potential impact on local wildlife and, in particular, the bat population.
The proceedings are against the board, Uisce Éireann, the Minister for Housing, Local Government, and Heritage, Ireland, and the Attorney General.
The applicants claim that the board failed to address the fact that wastewater from the development would exacerbate sewage overflows into the local wastewater system.
The applicants also claim the board failed to determine if local bat populations, and their breeding sites, would be disturbed by the proposed development.
It is also claimed that the Minister, in a 2022 decision regarding the site, failed to exercise his functions relating to nature conservation, nor comply with the EU Directive on Habitats, by not stating if the proposed development would deliberately disturb bats.
The decision also failed to take into account that the proposed development will be built on the gardens of Dalguise House, which is a protected structure.
The board also failed to properly interpret new apartment guidelines, or the local development when it decided to grant permission, it is also claimed.
It is further claimed that the decision is flawed because the board failed to put all documentation about the proposed development on its website, which it is obliged to do.
Applications
Represented by James Devlin SC and Alan Doyle Bl, instructed by solicitor Fred Logue, the applicants seek various orders and declarations from the court, including an order quashing planning permission.
They also seek orders quashing Uisce Éireann's finding that there is capacity available in the local wastewater network to facilitate the proposed development, and the Minister's 2022 finding relating to bat protection measures at Dalguise.
They further seek declarations that the board has erred in law by failing to make the files about the development available on its website.
Both the developer and Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council are notice parties to the action.
The matter came before a vacation sitting of the High Court this week and Ms Justice Siobhan Stack deemed the application formally open, adjourning the case to a date in May.
The developer had originally sought permission to develop over 490 units in 11 blocks ranging from between three and nine storeys in height, along with a childcare facility and a cafe on the site.
In 2023, the council refused to grant permission for the development. That decision was appealed to the board, which granted permission, but reduced the overall size of the development to 387 units.
