The
Secretary,
An Bord
Pleanala,
64
Marlborough Street,
Dublin 1
16th
November 2012
Dear Sir/Madam,
We wish to make an observation in
relation to the An Bord Pleanala Case reference PL29N.24122 on the appeal
against a decision by Dublin City Council to part refuse the planning
application reference number 3032/12.
The basis of our objection is
primarily to do with the inappropriateness of this use within Finglas Village
and the concerns expressed to us by local residents about the proposal. We
previously outlined these to Dublin City Council prior to their issuance of a
split decision to refuse permission for the amusement arcade element of the proposal.
We wish to state that we support
business development in Finglas Village and do not oppose the internet café
element of the permission.
In relation to the appeal against
the split decision of Dublin City Council we wish to make the following points;
- The future development of Finglas Village should
be based on making the village a vibrant and sustainable commercial centre.
This involves the provision of a wide retail and service offering based on the
needs of the local community and which promote Finglas village as a shopping destination.
- The Dublin City Development Plan 2012 -2017 shares
the above aim and it identifies Finglas Village as key district centre. While
the stated internet café/amusement use is a permissible use under the Z4
zoning, we believe the proposed development is not conducive to the development
of the village in line with the objectives of the district centre designation.
- From our engagement with local residents on this
issue, the belief in the area is that amusement arcades can give a negative
perception to a main street. Much work
has been done in recent years by the Tolka Area Partnership, the City Council,
local businesses and local interest groups, amongst others, to promote and
develop Finglas Village. This work is based on a shared belief about how the
village should develop based on a varied and complementary service offering.
This valuable work is at an advanced stage and any proposal that has the
possibility of detrimentally affecting this work by means of a negative perception
of the main street should not be allowed.
- Significantly, this potential for a negative
perception is considered locally to possibly be a major impediment to the
ability of Finglas Village to compete with the City Centre and Charlestown
Shopping Centre as a retail destination.
- Finglas village already has six betting shops
and we believe the amusement arcade aspect of the application is targeted at a
market that is already very well provided for.
- In the appeal documents submitted to An Bord
Pleanala on the 24th of October 2012 the applicant’s agent states
that under the Z4 zoning, amusement arcades are ‘normally permitted’. Given
that nature of this application, and the potential for a precedent to be
established in the area, I think it is important to note that ‘permissible’
means that it is an allowed use but that does not equate to ‘normally
permitted’ which we feel is an important distinction.
- We also note with concern two planning
permissions for amusement arcades refused by Local Authorities then appealed to
An Bord Pleanala (appeal references PL35 .240508 and PL06F.239466) resulting in
recommendations issued by the An Bord Pleanala Inspectors reports for refusal
for the amusement element of the applications, only to be granted on a
temporary basis by the Board. In both instances, the planning policy in the locality
was based on the principles of protecting and enhancing the amenities and
character of the town/village centre. The same planning principles apply in
Finglas Village and we respectfully request that the views expressed to us by
local residents and interest groups be heard and permission, even on a
temporary basis, not be allowed to proceed.
In summary, it is our belief that
this proposal would not be complementary to the future development of Finglas
Village and we therefore oppose the amusement arcade element of this planning
application.
With best
wishes,
John Lyons
TD
Cllr John
Redmond
Cllr Steve
Wrenn
Cheque for
€50 enclosed.
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