Pat Kenny among local residents to win fight as Dalkey nursing home plan rejected

Seán McCárthaigh

An Coimisiún Pleanála has rejected plans for a large nursing home near Bullock Harbour in south Dublin, which was strongly opposed by local residents, including broadcaster Pat Kenny, because of concerns an access road would pose a road safety hazard.

The Commission has upheld a decision of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to refuse planning permission for the proposed construction of a 104-bedroom nursing home on a 0.6-hectare site between Ulverton Road and Harbour Road, Dalkey, Co Dublin.

The council’s ruling had been appealed by a company in the Bartra property group run by high-profile developer Richard Barrett.

Bartra Property (Dublin) Limited had sought approval for its plans for a five-storey nursing home on the site of two former residences, Yonder and Maple Tree House, which is located near the family home of Kenny and his wife, Kathy.

The Commission’s ruling was made after several local residents, including the Newstalk presenter and former Late Late Show host, had taken successful judicial review proceedings in the High Court against a decision by its predecessor, An Bord Pleanála, in July 2023 to grant planning permission for the project.

The High Court directed that Bartra’s planning application should be resubmitted to the Commission for consideration after opponents had raised a number of issues, including claims the nursing home would have an adverse impact on badgers in the area.

The Commission has now ruled that a laneway off Harbour Road, which would be the primary route for accessing the proposed nursing home, would have “insufficient capacity to safely accommodate the intensified level of vehicular movements generated by the proposed development.”

The Commission said it had taken into consideration the restricted width of the laneway and adjacent footpath and the lack of designated vehicle passing points.

It concluded that the proposed development would “endanger public safety by reason of traffic hazard and obstruction of road users.”

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council had rejected the plans for the same reason, as well as on grounds of the scale and design of the nursing home, which planners said would adversely affect the visual and residential amenities of adjoining properties.

Plans for a nursing home were first lodged in January 2021 after Bartra abandoned plans to develop an apartment complex on the site.

In its appeal, Bartra claimed the development complied with national policy, which targeted brownfield sites for redevelopment and providing accommodation for older people as well as with building height guidelines.

It also claimed the privacy and amenity of other properties were protected and the traffic impact was less than under the previous plans for apartments on the site.

However, opponents claimed the laneway could not safely accommodate the traffic that the nursing home would generate.

They also maintained that the development could not proceed without disturbing a protected habitat of badgers in the area, and a proposed artificial sett for the animals would probably result in their extinction, as they would be cut off from feeding and foraging areas.

The Commission received 15 third-party submissions, including ones from the Kennys and Dalkey Community Council, which questioned the need for the nursing home as well as its design and alignment with criteria for the development of nursing homes under the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Development Plan.

The Kennys claimed the nursing home would “detrimentally impact” their family home and other adjoining properties as well as seriously damage the character of the Bullock Harbour area.

The couple also described the access laneway as “substandard.”

In one submission to the council, they claimed that Bartra had bought “a challenging and problematic site” and was “attempting to stuff an Ugly Sister’s foot into Cinderella’s delicate slipper.”

A planning inspector with the Commission said she did not consider the principle of the development of the proposed nursing home could be accepted based on the planning history of the site.

The inspector also noted that two vehicles could not comfortably pass each other in the laneway without mounting a footpath that is used by local residents.

She concluded the scale of the development, which would provide a care facility for 104 residents, was “excessive” for the laneway, while car parking provision was “inadequate.”

The inspector found that the council’s decision to refuse planning permission over road safety concerns was “reasonable”, while she also agreed that the proposed development would seriously injure the amenities of other residences.

However, she did not find that the impact on badgers in the area constituted grounds for the refusal of planning permission.

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