Hammerson-Allianz plans for Dundrum Village lodged: PUBLIC MEETING Wednesday April 27th,Taney Parish Centre,7.30pm

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The final Hammerson-Allianz plans for Dundrum Village were lodged with An Bord Pleanála (ABP) for planning permission on Tuesday April 5th, and can be seen at https://dundrumvillageSHD.ie/.

The public has only until MONDAY MAY 9TH to make observations (submissions) to ABP – the only opportunity to have your say on this development.

IMAGINE DUNDRUM is strongly in favour of the redevelopment of Dundrum to revitalise our Village and provide much-needed homes. BUT WE ARE DEEPLY CONCERNED about these plans, which in no way match the vision of Dundrum’s future developed in consultation with the local community. Imagine Dundrum’s Proposals. With the help of a planning expert, we are considering the plans in detail and will make a more detailed statement very soon, but we have outlined below our initial concerns and questions.

WE ASK FOR YOUR SUPPORT. Sign up to the Imagine Dundrum mailing list, contact your local Councillors and TDs, spread the word to friends and neighbours, make your own submission to An Bord Pleanála, and not least make a donation to support our campaign for the best possible future Dundrum.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY:

  1. PUBLIC MEETING Wednesday April 27th, Taney Parish Centre, 7.30 pm. Input from our planning consultant and information on making a submission to An Bord Pleanála.
  2. DROP-IN ADICE/INFORMATION clinic to assist with submissions, Saturday April 30th. Details to be announced.

All citizens in the wider local area, and those beyond it with ties to Dundrum, are encouraged to view the plans for themselves and make their voices heard by taking part in the planning process.

Hammerson-Allianz plans: Imagine Dundrum’s INITIAL STATEMENT OF CONCERNS

    • Lack of community engagement. Despite promises, and statements of a community-focused corporate ethos and commitment to place-making, the developer has failed to consult with the community in advance of lodging their plans.
    • Timing. The 5-week public consultation period from April 5th includes 2 weeks of the Easter break for schools and colleges, when many local people will be away.
      In addition, the plans were lodged only a very short time before the coming into force of the new Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Development Plan 2022-28 and in the absence of the long-awaited Local Area Plan for Dundrum, both of which contain strong protections for Dundrum Village itself.
    • An Bord Pleanála’s formal Opinion requires the developer’s initial proposals to be given “further consideration and amendment” if they are “to constitute a reasonable basis for an application for strategic housing development”. Have the plans lodged on April 5th significantly changed from the developer’s initial proposals?
    • Apparent over-riding of County Development Plans. The plans appear to ignore both Dundrum’s Major Town Centre zoning and the Special Local Objectives (SLOs) for the protection of Dundrum Village set down in the County Development Plans.
    • The height and design of new buildings on Main Street are of concern. How do these decisions and the choice of mainly 5-storey buildings respond to the County Development Plan’s requirement to respect the character and scale of the historic Village streetscape?
    • Destruction of Main Street heritage. How can the demolition of many of the existing buildings on Main Street (West) conform with their Architectural Conservation Area status granted in the County Development Plans?
    • Reduction in retail provision on Main Street. How can this contribute to revitalising the Street as a lively public space conducive to sociability and connection?
    • An almost entirely residential development. How can this provide the level of retail and non-residential provision appropriate to the long-standing Major Town Centre zoning of the Village, and the “civic, cultural and community “ facilities, spaces and services called for in the County Development Plan?
    • Overall height and density. Dundrum Village and its surroundings form a human- scale environment, and at first sight the heights and density planned for this small site are shocking. How can they be in accordance with the context of the immediate and medium-distance built environment and the need to provide sustainable housing for future generations?

In short, the developer’s vision of Main Street as a community and a built environment is radically different from the vision Imagine Dundrum has developed over the last five years in consultation with local people. Imagine Dundrum’s Proposals

Help us campaign for a future Dundrum which is recognisable and authentic, which is thriving and inclusive, and which is a place we all want to belong to. Watch this website, sign up to our mailing list, come to the public meeting on Wednesday April 27th, and make your submission TO An Bord Pleanála in good time!

Have your say on plans for Dundrum village

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We are attaching out newsletter with information on the initial proposal from Hammerson/Allianz for Dundrum Village.
A full planning application is expected imminently and as we have just five weeks to respond we want to ensure that this information reaches as many people as possible in the Dundrum area. Please pass this on to anyone you think may be interested.
As soon as we have further information we will forward to everyone on our mailing list.
Anyone can join this list.
Read more…

Local community hopes for Dundrum

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In 2017, Imagine Dundrum hosted an Open Meeting, featuring “community conversations” among small groups of participants. They were asked three questions: ‘Why is Dundrum important to you?’, ‘What are the issues and what needs to change?’, and ‘Dundrum in the future – what would make it a really great place to live?’ In their answers to this question, local people expressed their wishes for the future of their Village, and imagined what it would look like. Will the Hammerson-Allianz proposals fulfil these hopes? Read what locals said here

The Hammerson-Allianz Proposals: Do they match Imagine Dundrum’s vision for our Village?

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We list first some of the headline Hammerson-Allianz proposals for the Dundrum development, as outlined in the An Bord Pleanála (ABP) documents of February 2022. We then put them side by side with Imagine Dundrum’s vision of the best possible future for the Dundrum Village area, based on our long-term community engagement and our own evolving thinking. Quotations are drawn from a number of Imagine Dundrum documents, especially Imagine Dundrum’s Proposals for the Regeneration of the Old Shopping Centre site and the West side of Dundrum Village (August 2021) Read more…

FAQs on Hammerson-Allianz Development Proposals for Dundrum Village

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At the Imagine Dundrum webinar on planning issues and the future of Dundrum village in late November 2021, so many questions were put to the panel that not all could be answered there and then. Here are answers to most of them, grouped into the main topics raised. They are particularly relevant now that An Bord Pleanála’s Opinion and Inspector’s’ Report on the Hammerson–Allianz proposals were published in January 2022. Read more…

 

Hammerson-Allianz Dundrum Village Redevelopment Proposals: An Bord Pleanála Opinion

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Dundrum Village Redevelopment Proposals

What do the An Bord Pleanála documents published in January 2022 tell us?

Imagine Dundrum hopes that the following summary of the current (mid-February 2022) position on development proposals for Dundrum will be helpful to our readers who want a clear outline, and may not have time to study the originals. But they are on this page below for reference – and if you only have time to read one document, maybe the Inspector’s Report is the one! Read more…

 

News Release: Hammerson-Allianz have out forward initial proposals for Dundrum to An Bord Pleanála

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On Friday January 14th, An Bord Pleanála gave its formal Opinion on the initial proposals submitted by Hammerson for redevelopment of the Old Shopping Centre in Dundrum Village and their properties on Main Street. The Opinion concludes the first stage of the Strategic Housing Development planning process and paves the way for a formal Planning Application. Hammerson now has 16 weeks from the date of issue of the Opinion to submit a Planning Application to an Bord Pleanála. Read more…

Time to speak up and speak out for Dundrum Village!

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Imagine Dundrum has been campaigning for several years now for the best possible future for Dundrum Village, and for a strong community voice in planning that future. The time has come to join together and together make our strongest possible case for that future!   URGENT! SIGN UP WITH IMAGINE DUNDRUM TO LEARN ABOUT THE […]

Read more

Webinar Recording and Summary Report

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Imagine Dundrum is delighted to report that its recent webinar generated a very positive public response.

A recording of the webinar can be viewed below:

Excellent  presentations were delivered  by Robin Mandal, former  President of the Royal Irish Institute of Architects, John Dobbin, Architect and Director in Shay Cleary Architects, and Councillor Anne Colgan, Chair of Imagine Dundrum.

Robin outlined the challenges facing communities under the current national planning system, especially when dealing with proposed largescale developments which operate under the Strategic Housing Development (SHD) process set up for applications over 100 units. He emphasised the need for the community voice to be heard, describing its absence as anti-democratic.  He  maintains it will  lead to poor quality developments for current and future generations unless local communities get involved.

John Dobbin,drawing on examples of current practice in London, and traditional urban designs we can all relate to in Rathmines and Phibsboro, demonstrated how one can create high quality neighbourhoods which accommodate high density in a low rise setting, and at a profit. His approach is worthy of detailed consideration by all stakeholders involved, including  developers, local communities, County Councils and national government.

Anne Colgan asked the attendees to pay close attention to whatever plans Hammerson puts to An Bord Planala for Dundrum village. She offered to bring local communities together once these come into the public domain (possibly early in the New Year), while reiterating Imagine Dundrum’s offer to meet with Hammerson. She outlined Imagine Dundrum’s own proposals for Dundrum, ie its  strong expectation of a long awaited and essential investment to achieving the goal of creating ‘a sustainable, modern, thriving Dundrum that effectively blends the Village’s rich past and heritage, its unique character and its present strengths, with its future as a modern urban village.’

Attending were over 250 people,including our three national representatives, Minister Catherine Martin TD, Minister Josepha Madigan TD, Neale Richmond TD, local councillors, and many local community representatives and residents associations. Some sixty questions and observations were put to the panel by the very able chair for the evening, Alan Mee,Associate Professor of Architecture in UCD.  Here is a sample:

How do all of us as citizens demand a say in how the places where we live are designed?

In London major projects are required to undertake meaningful consultation. Could this be done in the Irish planning context?

Based on the projected volume increase in residents, is there a review of infrastructure requirements to support this increase ? Dundrum Main Street/by pass are already  bottlenecks.

Do we know what plans Hammerson have already submitted to An Bord Pleanala?

Eight stories not acceptable, when high density can be achieved with 3 stories.

Has any development on a similar sized site occurred using the building style/density John outlined? Has his building style been discussed with any government department dealing with planning issues and what response has he received?

With huge concentration of housing units there is a need to integrate other functions such as retail, leisure, cultural. It should be low rise high density.

If you have any questions, suggestions  or observations to make, please forward to imaginedundrum2016@gmail.com. We would be delighted to hear from you.

The Future Dundrum

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