One of the country’s leading businessmen has written a scathing letter to Dublin’s city manager slamming “inappropriate links” between council planners and developers.
And tycoon Dermot Desmond referred in his letter to meetings between city planners and developer Sean Dunne over the latter’s skyscraper proposal for Ballsbridge.
Mr Desmond also criticised what he termed a five-year effort by Dublin City Council “to set the stage for intensive development” in the Dublin 4 suburb.
This “concerted” bid included proposals for landmark buildings, new apartment guidelines and a paper on high-rise development.
And he told the capital’s top council official, John Tierney, that the local authority attempted to change the City Development Plan “by the back door” to facilitate builders.
Addressed to Mr Tierney, the letter was also sent to Environment Minister John Gormley and Dublin city councillors.
High-rise
One such councillor, Tom Stafford (Fianna Fail), told the Herald he agreed with much of what Mr Desmond said, in particular that the council is intent on following a high-rise policy.
Mr Desmond wrote: “I am on record, on a number of occasions, expressing my concern that development in Dublin is developer-led instead of being determined on proper planning and design principles.”
He said “we now have real evidence that this is the case” following the recent Bord Pleanala hearings into Mr Dunne’s plan for the Jurys/ Berkeley Court site and developer Ray Grehan’s proposal for an adjacent piece of land.
“The sequence of events which unfolded demonstrated how Dublin City Council has facilitated the desire of developers to change the zoning, density and height guidelines applicable to Ballsbridge sites purchased for record amounts,” Mr Desmond stated.
He added: “Arising from the An Bord Pleanala hearings, we now have copies of minutes of pre-application consultations between the developers and Dublin City Council.
“Clear markers were given at such meetings that parts of the proposed developments did not fall within the development plan. So the developers should have been asked to drastically reduce and alter their schemes.
“However, the worrying aspect is that planning officials at Dublin City Council were instead looking at other policy initiatives which would get around the development plan and facilitate development of the kind proposed for this triangle site in Ballsbridge.”
He told the city manager “all of these pre-application consultations and the drafting of favourable policy papers … took place on your watch”.
Mr Desmond said “evidence of inappropriate links between planning officials and developers emerged before An Bord Pleanala”.
“A serious conflict of interest arose when Jim Barrett, recently retired City Architect, arrived to give evidence as part of Sean Dunne’s project team. Jim Barrett had attended pre-application consultations with the developers,” he wrote.
A spokeswoman for the council said Mr Tierney would not be commenting as he is on leave and has not seen the letter.
- Cormac Murphy
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http://www.herald.ie/national-news/shockwaves-of-desmond-letter-start-council-row-1511444.html
He said that at the oral hearing it transpired Mr Dunne’s architect “had brought models of a 32-storey tower, 37-storey tower and 40-storey tower to a meeting at Dublin City Council”.
“Jim Barrett, city architect, suggested that the 37-storey was more ‘elegant’,” Mr Desmond said. He then “apparently made further suggestions concerning appropriate heights for other buildings which were ultimately reflected in the planning application”.
Mr Desmond added: “While ultimately the planning authority refused permission for the 37-storey tower, it is clear that Jim Barrett was acting outside the development plan when even considering such tall buildings.”
