Time for Trinity College Dublin to build student accommodation on land in Santry Demesne, councillor says

There’s a small piece of land at Santry Demesne, about 0.6ha, owned by Trinity College Dublin.

It sits east of the college’s vast book repository, known as the Santry Stacks, and south of its playing pitches.

It really ought to be developed as student accommodation, say Fingal county councillors. It is zoned for that in Fingal’s development plan for 2023 to 2029.

At the Balbriggan/Rush-Lusk/Swords Area Committee on 16 January, Social Democrats Councillor Paul Mulville put in a motion asking that the council request the college to bring forward a planning proposal for the site.

The college hasn’t taken any steps to move forward with developing this land, Mulville said. “It’s effectively sitting on residentially zoned land, it just isn’t right.”

In the midst of a student accommodation crisis, it is important that this land is developed to provide low-cost living space, he said.

Pressure to do that, though, is lessened after a decision by An Bord Pleanála in October last year to exempt the site from the Residential Zoned Land Tax.

A spokesperson for Trinity College Dublin said it intends to carry out a masterplan study of its estates, and will be considering its options for this parcel in Santry.

The college’s preference is to expand its existing student accommodation over in Dartry, as this currently has planning consent, the spokesperson said, and has sought government funding to support that delivery.

Zoning

Trinity College Dublin came into the ownership of this small piece of land when it bought 14 hectares of the demesne, which have wild meadows and woodlands, in 1972.

It did so to build its book repository and more sports grounds, according to a college report.

The college did build several pitches – three with artificial grass, one for hockey, two for football, one for GAA and another for rugby, alongside a number of training areas, the report says.

By December 2016, the college was also considering the possibility of expanding its student accommodation to the area too, said a report at the time from the student paper, The University Times.

It’s been a local objective in Fingal’s development plans for more than a decade, said Mulville, the Social Democrats councillor, on Monday evening.

That objective is to facilitate the provision of purpose-built student accommodation in such a way that it preserves the character of this area that is primarily an open space.

“It’s well serviced by public transport and it’s close to shops,” he says.

Just next door in Northwood are shops, cafes, health services and a gym, he says. “And it would tie in with the whole regeneration of Ballymun.”

But it needs to be subsidised or low-cost student accommodation, as a lot of people enrolling in college are struggling to find a place to live, he said. “There are, in other parts of Santry, very expensive private student accommodation.”

Last year – when Trinity College Dublin argued successfully to An Bord Pleanála that the land should be excluded from the Residential Zoned Land Tax – it said that the land was being used as an informal training and warm-up area.

Planning inspector Fergal Ó Bric agreed that it was exempt.

“Given the lands are integral to, and in occupation by recreational infrastructure including sports facilities, it is not reasonable to consider that the lands are available for residential development,” he wrote.

Mulville says that if Trinity doesn’t want to develop those lands anymore, they should be “de-zoned”, from residential to open space. “Otherwise, what’s the plan here? It’s land hoarding in effect.”