Fortfield Development should be refused on the following grounds:

1) Adequate provision for active travel was not made.

2) Excessive provision of BTR apartments runs in contravention of the Government's Housing First policy commitments

1. Due to the BTR nature of the development, the transient nature of the residents means active travel modes need to be prioritized. The developer should have liased with South Dublin County Council and the NTA for the establishment of an adequate active travel link.

The plan interferes with the proposal for a cycle track on the Fortfield Road to facilitate active travel and alleviate school congestion
Local residents groups including ours have been campaigning to have a cycle track installed on Fortfield Road so children have safe access to Terenure College, Our Lady´s and St. Pius schools.
The application has not demonstrated that it does not interfere with the Kimmage-City Centre/Tallaght-Terenure Bus Corridor projects.
The development is situated in between two proposed Bus Gates in the BusConnects plan. Under the BusConnects Bus Corridor plan which is due to go to planning in the coming period, cars will not be able to access Kimmage Road Lwr from Fortfield Road due to a 24/7 bi-direcitonal Bus Gate. Cars will also not be able to access Terenure Village from Templeogue Road due to an inbound Bus Gate. Therefore it is paramount that active travel modes are provisioned for in the planning. Existing vehicular traffic will be squeezed down Terenure Rd West in order to access the inner city and this traffic backlog will be worsened by the development if alternatives are not put in place.
There will be a lack of orbital and connected public transport links in the area, exacerbating congestion in Terenure Village
Wainsfort Road, Greenlea Road and College Drive have no public transport, and Fortfield Road will have one bus route which does not access Templeogue Road.The BusConnects team have not provisioned for any orbitals in the Fortfield area such as suggested along the R112, meaning residents will likely drive everywhere that doesn´t involve going to town.

The transport habits of residents due it being BTR are likely to mean increased carbon emissions
The BTR nature of the development makes it highly unlikely that local residents will opt to live in this dwelling meaning that the occupants transport needs will be greater than if it were not BTR. High rental costs mean workers living in the development will be cut-off without adequate public transport that does not allow them access to neighbouring areas.

2. “Build-to-rent developments are about maximising profits for developers through inflated rental costs which in turn pushes up the value of land and house price inflation in the city. The scheme would fail to provide adequate residential amenities for residents, many of whom have already left due to rocketing rental costs in the area and a lack of affordable supply. This excessive provision of build to rent units and the absence of any social dwellings and affordable or cost rental apartments is in contravention of the Government's Housing First policy commitments”. Developers must be required at a minimum to meet their statutory obligations on social and build-to-buy apartments of which there are none of in this scheme. We are not opposed to a development here and would welcome a plan that addresses the above concerns.

future of dublin

Build To Rent