Thousands of new homes, a park and a primary school planned in Finglas

Several landowners own parts of the site. Councillors said they were worried about patchwork development.

Ahead of the rezoning, one of the landowners, Jamestown Village Ltd, had applied to An Bord Pleanála for permission to build 400 build-to-rent apartments and a creche.

The board found that that application required further consideration or amendments and it cited zoning as an issue.

In August 2022, An Bord Pleanála granted Jamestown Village Ltd permission to build 320 build-to-rent homes on the site, together with a creche.

Griffith represents another group that owns land in the industrial estate, the Finglas Employers Group – a coalition of four local businesses that controls 8.4 hectares of land on the site.

They don’t know what mix or model of homes they will build yet, he says, because the landowners are digesting the masterplan.

The masterplan was drawn up by council planners and the landowners saw it for the first time last Thursday, says Griffith.

“It’s a really careful piece of work done by the city planners,” he says. “Everybody is contributing more or less the same amount of public open space and community facilities.”

Without a masterplan, a private development wouldn’t ordinarily include alot of community facilities, a school, parks, roads and cycleways, he says.

“If the masterplan is adopted, the landlords have to take that framework and see what they can do,” he said.

He expects that some age-friendly housing will be included in the housing mix.

The group will also consider the possibility of building a nursing home or a healthcare facility, says Griffith.

What Councillors Say

Last week, local councillors were given a presentation on the masterplan.

The designs include a community garden, a small sports ground and children’s play facilities, says the presentation.

“In general, the first planning applications lodged should include the provision of essential community infrastructure and public open space, to avoid the piecemeal build out of the lands,” says the masterplan.

“Housing developments should take place sequentially to ensure the sustainable build out of the lands,” it says.

Councillors say that the development will happen in phases and the entire masterplan could take around 20 years to complete.

“It looks great for the area,” says Sinn Féin Councillor Anthony Connaghan. “Hopefully it will reinvigorate Finglas village.”

The plans deliberately won’t include a lot of shops, he says, so that the existing village centre will benefit from the increased population.

Connaghan says he asked council officials how quickly homes could be built on the lands. It is all private land though, so timelines are outside of the council’s control, he says.

There are some concerns from residents about increased traffic, says Connaghan.

But there are plans in place to address those with new links, he said. The road is set to be widened and the Luas Green Line extension through Finglas should be up and running before the homes are completed, he said.

The new development should also be served by direct buses to the city centre, says the masterplan. “Filtered permeability maximises connectivity for pedestrians and cyclists, while limiting vehicular access across and through the lands.”

“It all looks great,” Connaghan says. “Residents will be fearful of change sometimes but it’s something that will be developed over 20 years or more.”

The number of homes has shot up from an estimated 2,200 when the land was rezoned in June 2021 to the current estimate of between 3,500 and 3,800, says Mary Callaghan, a Social Democrats councillor. “That is a massive jump in density.”

The plans show that most of the buildings are less than six storeys high with a few small pockets of land where they go up to eight.

Callaghan says the development appears to be too dense and is substantially different to what was agreed upon. She is concerned about the casual way that substantial change was introduced, she says.

“It is good to see the redevelopment move forward, we need housing,” she says. “It is important that density is thought through well and not changed in this flippant manner.”

There are issues with traffic and services in the area. “The question is are the services going to be put there?” she says.

She wonders where the funding will come from for the cultural facilities included in the plans. All of those are on private land, so a plan is needed to fund them, she says.