Council refuses contentious Monkstown build-to-rent apartment scheme

Gordon Deegan

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has refused planning permission to US-headquartered Greystar for a 488-unit ‘build to rent’ scheme on grounds around Dalguise House in Monkstown, Co Dublin.

The council refused planning permission to a Greystar subsidiary, GEDV Monkstown Owner Limited, after more than 70 objections were lodged against the scheme.

A “global leader in rental housing”, Greystar claimed the scheme would be its “flagship development in Ireland” and would “set the standard” for build-to-rent (BTR) developments in the country.

The scheme comprises 488 new-build units and three two-storey three-bed terraced units. The firm had proposed constructing 10 housing blocks, with one block reaching nine storeys.

Some 20 per cent of the units were to be made available for social and affordable housing and Dalguise was to be the first scheme in Ireland that Greystar had brought from design to operation.

The council refused planning permission after concluding the scheme would result in a proliferation of BTR accommodation and one-bed units "and would not provide for a sustainable mix of tenure housing type".

The council also refused permission due to the location of the site within the grounds of a protected structure, Dalguise House.

The council concluded that the proposed development due to its height would have a "visually overbearing impact" on Dalguise House.

The planning authority also refused permission as the quality of bicycle parking did not meet the required standard to support the reduced car-parking for the scheme.

A report by estate agents Hooke & MacDonald for the applicants and lodged with the plans stated that in September 2022 there were only three properties for rent in Monkstown. It said undersupply of rental properties was even more acute in Monkstown than other Dublin suburbs.

The Hooke & MacDonald report estimated that the average rent from the scheme’s two-bedroom four-person units would be €3,000 per month, or €36,000 per annum – a two-bed three-person apartment would cost an estimated €34,200 in annual rent.

The scheme includes 288 one-bed units with an estimated average monthly rent of €2,500, or €30,000 per annum.

Local activist Nicola Coleman, who organised a petition signed by over 1,200 people opposed to the development, welcomed the council's decision saying that it affirmed local democracy and the democratically agreed County Development Plan.

She said the decision also echoed many community concerns “including environmental concerns and the serious problems that ordinary people recognise are inherent in a corporatised BTR model of housing”.

Ms Coleman said when people see prices like the €35,000 per annum quoted for a two-bed apparent “it shatters any expectation we might have that the development represents a solution to the housing needs of the community”.

Ms Coleman said: “A two-bed flat at almost €35,000 per year is on a par with the take-home pay of a primary school teacher or nurse.”

In its objection, the Monkstown Road Residents Association told the council that “the residential and visual amenity of Monkstown Road and the surrounding area and streets will be severely denuded as a result of the proposed scale, height, layout and car parking arrangement of the proposed development”.

The residents' association said the level of house proposed in the LRD was significantly in excess of the 300 units proposed by the Strategic Housing Development (SHD) granted planning permission in August 2020, but which was subsequently quashed by the High Court on application by the Monkstown Road Residents Association.

In a joint objection with Cllr Melissa Halpin, local TD Richard Boyd Barrett contended that “the height, density, scale and visual impact of this development is out of character with preserving the Victorian ambiance of Monkstown”.

The two People Before Profit-Solidarity public representatives said: “The housing crisis continues to deepen despite the increased number of developments. The only people winning are the developers and the, Vulture funds while the communities, environment and, in this case our heritage are being harmed.

“While we are very aware of the desperate need for housing, it needs to be built sustainably and affordable to the general population.”

A spokesman for Greystar Ireland said: “Naturally we are very disappointed with the decision by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Council to refuse planning permission for this high-quality apartment complex at Dalguise House."

He said: "The scheme would have included public access to these private and historic landscaped grounds. We will now take some time to study the Council’s decision and review our options. Several months ago, Greystar Ireland made Dalguise House available to the Red Cross to provide much needed accommodation for refugees. A group of refugees is currently residing there and are unaffected by this decision.”