Local who rejected €100,000 ‘go-away’ cash lodges objection to new apartments plan

Last week The Irish Times reported that Mr Barry O’Lone of Castleknock had turned down €100,000 from Bartra to withdraw High Court judicial review proceedings against the planned 210-bed space co-living scheme opposite his family home.

Mr O’Lone is one of over 20 parties to lodge an objection against the new scheme

The co-living scheme did not proceed and, last month, Bartra Property (Castleknock) Ltd lodged plans for a 56-unit apartment scheme on the same site – at Brady’s Public House, Old Navan Rd, Dublin 15.

Under Part V of the Planing and Development Act 2020, regarding social housing, Bartra is to provide 10pc of the units for social housing to Fingal County Council.

The firm has put an indicative price tag of €2.7m on the five units, with an average price per unit of €541,776.

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Mr O’Lone is one of over 20 parties, including a group styling itself the ‘Concerned Residents of Talbot Court, Talbot Downs, Woodpark and Old Navan Road’, to lodge an objection against the new scheme.

As part of his objection, Mr O’Lone repeats the allegation that he was offered €100,000 by Bartra in April 2023 to withdraw the High Court judicial review against the co-living scheme.

He has attached the Bartra letter to his application, but council staff have made the contents unavailable to view.

Bartra is to provide 10pc of the units for social housing

Calling on Fingal planners to refuse planning permission for the new 56-unit scheme, Mr O’Lone points out that his family home is located directly opposite the site at Brady’s pub and the “close proximity, height and style of development will adversely affect the residential nature of the area and my home”.

The planning application involves the construction of 23 one-bedroom and 33 two-bedroom apartments.

A planning report by Thornton O’Connor Town Planning lodged with the original application states that the proposal will “provide a high-quality living environment” and “will also bring many economic benefits to the area by providing job opportunities locally from the construction process”.

In the 73-page report Patricia Thornton, a director at Thornton O’Connor, states that the proposed development “will provide critically needed housing”.

A spokesman for Bartra said “no comment” in response to queries.