Ireland: Harley Issuer DAC, a vehicle for private investment firm Bain Capital, has secured approval from Dublin City Council to build a 439-bed purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) scheme in Clonskeagh, Dublin.
The council has granted planning permission for the development, which will comprise five blocks ranging from one storey to part seven storeys, along with 16 residential apartments, on the former Smurfit Paper Mills site in Dublin 6.
The scheme also includes the extension and renovation of 14 existing dwellings on Clonskeagh Road.
Permission was granted despite objections from local residents and members of the River Dodder Anglers Association, which represents more than 1,300 people.
The group said the development “could damage the biodiversity of the River Dodder green/blue corridor and is in breach of Dublin City Council’s Biodiversity Action Plan, as well as the EU Habitats Directive and Water Framework Directive.”
In its report, the council planning department said the brownfield site is underutilised and that the proposal makes efficient use of the land.
It said: “The proposed removal of a proportion of the existing sluice gates in combination with a series of riverbed grade control structures will facilitate indigenous fish passage of key species and age classes over a range of flow rates at the existing historical weir.”
The Council’s Conservation Division concluded that the alterations would not adversely impact the area’s industrial heritage.
Highlights:
• Bain Capital has secured approval for a 439-bed PBSA in Clonskeagh, Dublin.
• The scheme will be built at the former Smurfit Paper Mills despite biodiversity concerns.
• Dublin City Council said the proposal makes efficient use of the land, and River Dodder conservation measures were included in plans.
