Local Howth Deputy Tommy Broughan has warmly welcomed the refusal by Fingal County Council of Planning Permission to Ray Grehan and Glenkerrin Homes for a very high density high rise proposal for the Old Techrete factory site at the entrance to Howth Town. The Grehan/Glenkerring proposal was for 386 apartments, a hotel and ancillary retail, office and leisure development in 8 blocks ranging mostly from 5 to 8 storeys with a so-called "landmark" hotel building up to 12 storeys high.

Following a large public meeting called by Deputy Broughan and local Cllr. Cian O’Callaghan and widespread consultation with local constituents, Deputy Broughan strongly opposed the Grehan development. Deputy Broughan commented; "In my lengthy submissions to Fingal County Council’s Planning Department I argued that the proposed development was unsustainable and totally inappropriate for Howth Town and Peninsula. The density proposed at 130 plus to the hectare or 60 plus to the acre was for higher densities than in the North Fringe new urban district and would be outrageously out of character in Howth and Sutton. While the building designs by "staritecht" Lord Foster were striking, the massive 7, 8 and 12 storey heights would totally dominate the surrounding town landscape of Howth and indeed the seascape of Baldoyle Bay. Foster’s gherkin-type designs may have resonance in huge cities like London or Paris but were utterly inappropriate at the entrance to Howth Town and Port."

"I also believed that the addition of 935 car spaces and the admitted 8,000 plus new vehicle movements in the A.M. and P.M. peaks in the Grehan proposal provided insuperable traffic and transport problems with the proposal", continued Deputy Broughan. "The proposal also made no reference whatsoever to existing serious traffic gridlock at Sutton Cross and all its interlinking roads. My constituents were horrified as well at the impact of what they referred to as a "high wall of buildings" on the local, much cherished visual environment of Howth from local viewing points around the peninsula. I also argued that the Grehan/Glenkerrin proposal was fundamentally undemocratic and hopelessly premature given ongoing current planning work on the Howth Urban Centre Strategy, the Special Amenity Area Order boundary areas and the new County Development Plan."

"I finally argued that the Grehan proposal would set a very bad precedent for the whole Howth Peninsula and that a much more integrated and sustainable proposal would be best for Howth Town and District", added Deputy Broughan.

In turning down the Ray Grehan Plan No. F08A/1172 for the old Techrete/Teeling site, Fingal County Council Planners drew attention to four main grounds of refusal. Firstly, they ruled that the quality of the proposed new apartments failed to meet minimum standards as laid down by guidelines such as "Quality Housing for Sustainable Communities" and Sustainable Urban Housing: Design Standards for New Apartments" issued by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The Fingal Planners decided that the 386 unit development would "give rise to a poor standard residential environment" and "therefore seriously injure the amenities of future residents and be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area."

Secondly, the proposal was rejected by Fingal because "its scale, massing and height…would constitute overdevelopment and overintensification of use of the site, would seriously injure the visual amenity of the immediate and wider area and would constitute an inappropriate design response to the existing context of the site." On these grounds the proposal is again "contrary to the proper and sustainable development of the area."

The third reason for refusal concerned the "scale, massing, height and proximity to the site boundaries" which were held to constitute a "significant adverse impact on the streetscape and on the setting and amenity of existing buildings in the vicinity which include some Protected Structures." This section concluded that the proposal would "therefore, seriously injure the amenities in the area and…property in the vicinity." Finally the Grehan/Glenkerrin proposal was rejected because the developer failed to "provide a riparian corridor as requested which meets the requirement for riverbank conservation" in the Fingal County Development Plan. This requirement refers to the need for facilities to "reduce flooding risk" and the "risk of pollution" and hence the proposal is "prejudicial to public health and the proper planning and sustainable development of the area."

The Refusal Order is dated September 17th 2009 and Deputy Broughan has alerted his constituents to be ready for a possible appeal by the developer.