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SOME OF THE country’s best known retail brands have appealed against Fingal County Council granting planning permission to contentious €450 million plans for a 971 unit apartment scheme for the Blanchardstown Town Centre site.
Last month, Fingal County Council granted planning permission to owner of the Blanchardstown Town Centre, Goldman Sachs for the mixed use scheme comprising seven apartment blocks with one rising to 16 storeys in height.
However, eight third party appeals have been lodged with An Bord Pleanála against the Council decision and those to appeal include Smyths Toys, TK Maxx, Woodies DIY, Harvey Norman and Lifestyle Sports.
Applicants and Goldman Sachs entity, Blanche Retail Nominee Ltd have also lodged a first party appeal against the decision.
Other third party appellants are listed as the Whitestown Residents and others, Labour councillor John Walsh and local resident Glen Conroy from the nearby Hillbrook Woods, Dublin 15.
The Council granted planning permission after concluding that the scheme would contribute to consolidating Blanchardstown town centre and provide residential development close to existing services and facilities. The scheme also includes seven commercial units, a community facility, a place of worship and a childcare facility.
On behalf of Lifestyle Sports, Head of Sustainability, Property and LP Muriel O’Keeffe stated that “we are alarmed by the proposed reduction in customer car-parking space. It is difficult to comprehend how the applicant could consider this acceptable”.
O’Keeffe stated that there will be an overall reduction of 525 retail car-parking post development stating “our customers will simply go elsewhere should there be such a significant reduction in car-parking at the application site”.
O’Keeffe said: “It is difficult to comprehend how the applicant could consider this acceptable”.
Consultants for Smyths Toys, RW Nowlan & Associates stated that “it is simply unacceptable” that substandard parking provision for the existing retail units would be available for at least 2.5 years at a minimum.
They stated: “This development should not be permitted to proceed until such a time as a significant and vast reduction in the scale of the development is undertaken.”
On behalf of TK Maxx, Director at Tom Phillips + Associates, John Gannon contended that the proposed development “has the potential to significantly impacted upon the commercial operations of TK Maxx, on a long term basis due to the reduced and less convenient car provision and also for a prolonged temporary period arising from the construction stage”.
On behalf of Woodies DIY, RW Nowlan & Associates have stated that planning permission “should be refused in this instance pending review and consultation by the applicant with the existing business operators with the retail park to provide a sustainable solution to development at the subject site”.
Planning consultant for the scheme, John Spain told the council that the proposal “will provide much needed residential accommodation” and the site is considered suitable for the density, scale, massing and design of the development proposed.
As part of the plan, the applicants are proposing to sell 97 units for social housing to Fingal County Council for €44.9 million.
The appeals board is due to make a decision on the appeal at the end of May.
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I hate this “traditional” bullsh!t! it was traditional to kill someone who questioned religion 500 years ago. do we still do it? No, because it’s wrong plain and simple. the majority of humans are stupid and I don’t think in humane practises like these will ever end when there is such stupidity
Sure they’re only dolphins.
That’s why Mother Nature hits them with tornadoes,earthquakes and other disasters.
Every country resents being told by other countries that some traditional practice is unethical and should cease. The world is against dolphin fishing but the stubborn Japanese refuse to change, substitute “dolphin fishing” for “destruction of peatlands” and “japan” for “Ireland” and you’ll see that the mentality is similar here. Better the change to come from within than forced from the outside.
The main difference is that peat is not herded into a tiny channel, held there for up to 48 hours, starved of food, harassed and scared and thrashing around. Peat does not die a slow agonizing death. Peat is not slaughtered while the rest of the pod watches. The only thing that is similar is that the end product is sold on.
Ye sure what do they do like?? Shag all
And to think people wonder why Fungi hangs around Kerry
It’s because we’re gentle humane folk. We rock :))
@Maurice, unfortunately I disagree with your comment, that we are gentle humane folk. Animal welfare in this country is so shocking that we should be ashamed.
Get a grip will you! We don’t go killing dolphins now do we?
@ Tony Campbell, no thankfully we don’t. We just abandon thousands of dogs, cat and horses in this country, leaving them to starve to death or have much worse things done to them.
Agreed Pauline in certain respects.
Stricter controls needed in relation to the holding of equine bloodstock within geographical regions.
Horses have no place in large towns or city regions.
Registers exist for sexual and child offenders. Same should be said for animals.
0 tolerance for abuse of herd and bloodstock & here the clinker, the statement that I’ll be red thumbed for:
Tighter control in relation to dogs in built up areas.
Uncontrolled roaming, excessive barking and non compliance of owners when asked to address an uncomforting situation.
Should have gone to specsaversTony
That makes no sense! You rant about horses and dogs on a story about dolphins?? I think you should of went to specsavers
@ I agree with all the points you made.
Animals stay around fellow animals
Tony, can you scroll up and read Paulines reply to my first comment in relation to how cruel us Irish can be to animals. My reply was justified. Whilst it has nothing to do with dolphins as you correctly pointed out it was a directional example of how even in this state we too have to evolve and learn to treat animals with better respect.
At the moment, the murderers in Tajii are selecting up to 250 dolphins who will either be sold to Seaworld and their ilk, or who will be killed. Those who’ve already died through starvation and/or exhaustion are sadly, the lucky ones. They’ve trapped a rare albino dolphin calf, whose mother had already died. There is nothing ‘traditional’ about such barbarity. Japan should hang it’s head in shame.
A time honoured revenge for what whales & dolphins did at Hiroshima & Nagasaki.
It was chicken and cow!
“The fishermen in Taiji say the hunt is part of their village tradition and call foreign critics who eat other kinds of meat hypocritical.”
What is tradition about hunting them in motorboats…..or leaving them trapped in the cove for 4 days without food while the young ones are captured to be sold to marine parks….Ive been watching the live stream for the last 3 days on and off. Its disgusting.
Got a link?
http://livestream.seashepherd.org it starts around 10.30pm/11pm irish time
It’s disgusting that waterparks around the globe now this.
If it was tradition to hoarde stray ponies, dog’s and cats to a field then whack them to death……. Would it be Ok?
Hairy Japanese b@stards.
Uncivilised lot have the planet ruined
They know that basically the entire world is horrified by this and wants them to cease the practice, yet they remain steadfast in their intent to keep it up regardless. Stubborn bunch.
Due to the high mercury content the meat isn’t even safe to eat
That’s disgusting, f€@king japs
Time for another nuke
Ha
I wouldn’t critize them for eating dolphin meat but I most defiantly critize them on the manner in which they are killed, it is horrific and inhumane.
True. Dolphin is very tasty, but needs to be caught and killed in a more humane way than that!
Filthy b@starts.
F#%k off back to China ya Japanese bol#%cks..
Mmmmmm. Dolphin n chips n a can of coke.
I’d love to put a few holes in them boats
Oh it’s traditional is it, oh that’s fine so. Anything goes in the name of culture.
Hate saying it but any wonder why Japan gets hit with tidal waves and earthquakes natural disasters.
Well its definitely not cos they kill dolphins.
Weather systems and fault lines? No wonder really .
How many people who post condemnation here, truly stop and think how that steak came to be on your plate, those leather gloves on your hands or that ham in your sandwich? Sure, this slaughter of dolphins is barbaric, but so is the whole animal commodity industry, just on a much larger scale.
@ Adrian, for most people the beef, pork or poultry products that they eat are widely accept as agreeable animals to eat. But what they don’t realise is that a lot of the treatment these animals receive in slaughter houses is just as bad as the way these dolphins are being killed.
Can you provide proof of this happening with in Irish abattoirs ?
No, I can’t. Can you provide proof that all the meat you eat came from animals raised and killed “humanely”? Besides, it’s not just about the abbatoir stage, there are many opportunities for farmed animals to suffer before their throats are slit. Despite the horrific deaths endured by these dolphins, at least they were free most of their lives. We’re horrified by what happens out in the open in other cultures, yet never seem to want to see what happens closer to home.
@ Chris, up until 2010 Slaney Meats were killing cattle in the Kosher method.
I come from a farming background and have been to abbitors and seen animals being stunned incorrectly, being still conscious as they are strung up and their throats cut.
Karma karma a chara,god of sea pay back.
F@€k you whale, fu£k you dolphin!
A little known fact , Dolphins gang rape their females, not so cute now eh?
E e eeee eeee ee eeeee eeee eeee eeeee eeee ee
Translation =
Jump in de wata wit me I slap u in face wit flippa fin slanty zipa
What happens in Taji is horrible , but such an outburst from mrs Kennedy is almost laughable tweeting how heartbreaking the cull is, on other hand has no problem with drones dropping bombs on innocent people all over Afghanistan and Northern Pakistan!!
Just to be clear don’t agree with the slaughter of dolphins just want to point out hip overact of the us!
Of course the US only slaughter Iraqi s and Afgans.
As a group, I despise those sea shepherd guys, they are far too close to Eco-terrorists in my eyes.
The Japanese whale and dolphin hunting is disgusting thought.
Thought?
Ruddy predictive text.
What’s wrong with this? Everyone benefits so I’m all for it
have your say