Green light for 457 apartments up to 12 storeys in height near Omni Shopping Centre in north Dublin
Planning permission has been granted for a 12-storey, 457-apartment scheme on a 2.5 hectare brownfield site near Dublin’s Omni Shopping Centre.
The development, known as Omni Plaza, would see the warehouse buildings in the northwest corner of the Omni retail park demolished and replaced by four blocks up to 12 storeys in height.
The 457 apartments, proposed by firm Serendale Limited, would be made up of 221 one-bedroom units, 211 two-bedroom, 24 three-beds and one studio apartment.
In addition to the substantial residential element, the proposal includes two retail units, residents’ amenity space, a crèche, a public plaza and an internal community area.
In an attached planning report, consultancy firm John Spain Associates wrote that the development seeks “to provide for a balance of uses, without detracting from the primary commercial nature of the lands.”
“The proposed development proposes to create a vibrant mixed use neighbourhood to deliver homes to add to the existing retail, workspace and leisure uses currently existing in Omni Park Shopping and Leisure centre,” the report reads.
Acknowledging the significant difference in scale between the proposed blocks and Santry’s surrounding suburban homes, the report said it would provide “balance” to the area’s housing provision, thereby catering to a broader section of the population.
An additional 213 basement-level car parking spaces would be provided for future residents, with 22 of these having electric vehicle chargers installed.
The report also pointed to the future delivery of a nearby BusConnects corridor and ongoing improvements to active travel infrastructure to justify its density.
“The site is clearly highly accessible by non-car modes of travel, accessible via bus, and within easy walking and cycling distance of local services and shops adjacent the site,” it said.
A previous iteration of the scheme, which also received planning permission from Dublin City Council, had a dedicated community space in place of 19 ground-floor apartments.
However, this area was replaced with apartments in the latest plans following a government announcement that dedicated community spaces would not be mandated in Dublin’s large-scale residential schemes going forward.
The developer said community and culture space would be retained elsewhere in the plans, but it has fallen from more than 2,200 square metres down to 266.
Local residents objected to the reduction, with secretary of the Santry Forum, Anne O’Rourke, saying that the area needs far more facilities to cope with an “explosion in population in recent years.”
Members of Santry Community Association said the local community centre is “at breaking point” with the number of people passing through their doors every week.
“We need more community spaces. Developers are building a huge amount of houses in our area, but no facilities for people to socialise in,” wrote the manager of the centre, Caroline Molloy.
“We need spaces where people can gather and mix, like in most European countries that have apartment living they have spaces set aside for people to mix and make friends,” she said.
“Social isolation and loneliness is a growing concern in this country, people’s third spaces are closing and we are being shut in our homes with nowhere to go.”