Planning green light for paid parking at Blanchardstown Centre despite local opposition

Gordon Deegan

The new owners of the Blanchardstown Centre in west Dublin have secured the green light for their contentious plan to introduce a paid parking system at the retail destination despite local opposition.

Fingal Co Council has granted planning permission to Blanche Retail Nominee Ltd for a new Mobility Enhancement Project, which includes a Commercial Car Parking Management System comprising a new paid parking regime to improve circulation flows.

Last Saturday, local residents staged a protest at the proposed paid parking regime, and a larger protest is planned for December 6th, one of the busiest shopping days of the year in the run up to Christmas.

The Council received a total of six submissions on the planning application and those who have lodged objections against the application will now be able to appeal the decision to An Coimisiún Pleanala.

Strategic Value Partners (SVP) acquired the lands at Blanchardstown Town Centre in late 2024 from Wall Street banking giant, Goldman Sachs for a reported sales price in the region of €600m.

Planning consultants for SVP firm, Blanche Retail Nominee Ltd, John Spain & Associates told the council that the proposed Mobility Enhancement Project is “to continue to build on the recent expansion and upgrades of the centre, to secure its position as a top tier scheme on an international stage and to ensure successful integration with BusConnects”.

Mr Spain stated that the introduction of a commercial car Parking Management System, which includes a new paid parking regime, will improve circulation flows and ensure that car parking resources are managed efficiently, safely and in a transparent manner.

However, in a joint objection, Ruth Coppinger TD, Cllr John Burtchaell and Cllr Helen Redwood (all People Before Profit-Solidarity) state that “this planning application represents a profound change to a central piece of commercial and civic infrastructure in the Dublin 15 area”.

The three state that “the proposed car parking charges will impact heavily on workers who are employed in the centre many of whom are already in poorly paid & precarious jobs”.

They claimed that “barrier controlled car parks will force vehicles to queue at entry & entry points resulting in significant and cumulative increases in emissions, pollution & noise”.

In their “No Barriers to Blanch’ 21 page objection, Luke Daly and Jack O’Reilly claim that the proposal is a commercialisation of public access disguised as mobility improvement.

They state that if permitted, "this will replace free, open community parking, with barrier-controlled, for-profit car parking".

The two state that the people of Dublin 15 and surrounding areas have long valued Blanchardstown SC as more than a shopping complex.

They state that it is a civic space, a place of gathering, and a rare suburban heart.

They state that "to reduce the space to a gated pay-to-enter, pay to stay status is to erode the very character and inclusivity that both Blanchardstown, Dublin West and Fingal proudly identifies with and proudly defines it".