{"id":586886,"date":"2026-08-08T10:08:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T10:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/586886\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T10:08:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T10:08:12","slug":"architect-urges-fingal-to-cut-dunsink-densities-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/586886\/","title":{"rendered":"Architect urges Fingal to cut Dunsink densities \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Housing<\/a> densities proposed for the proposed new town of Dunsink in north Dublin<\/a> are \u201cunrealistic\u201d, \u201cexcessive\u201d and disregard Government planning<\/a> guidelines, a past president of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) has said.<\/p>\n

Fingal County Council<\/a> has drafted plans for 18,500 homes at Dunsink, near what was once the capital\u2019s main landfill. Most of the homes will be apartments, in blocks up to 15 storeys tall.<\/p>\n

The Departments of Housing and Transport published a report three years ago which found Dunsink had the potential for \u201cintensive\u201d residential development for up to 7,000 homes.<\/p>\n

Tony Reddy, chairman of Reddy Architecture + Urbanism, said densities outlined in the new draft Dunsink Urban Area Plan are \u201cexceptionally high\u201d and were designed for intensive urban regenerations areas such as the Dublin Docklands. <\/p>\n

\"DunsinkSource: Fingal County Council <\/p>\n

Proposed densities of up to 225 dwellings per hectare (dph) were \u201cunrealistic\u201d, Reddy said in a submission to the council, and would make the development of schemes \u201cunviable\u201d in the Irish housing market.<\/p>\n

Department of Housing guidelines specify densities of 40 to 80 dph in suburban and \u201curban extension\u201d sites, and up to 150 dph near transport facilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe draft plan\u2019s proposed density range of 75\u2013225 dwellings per hectare is inappropriate and unviable for Dunsink and is not based on evidence-based national and international best-practice urban design for a new Sustainable Residential Development,\u201d Reddy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDunsink is a strategic metropolitan site, but it is also an edge\/greenfield urban expansion area with big environmental, infrastructural and social infrastructure requirements. <\/p>\n

\u201cA blanket or excessive density range of 75\u2013225 dph risks producing an urban form closer to inner metropolitan apartment districts than to the most successful new family-oriented European neighbourhoods.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Dunsink: Is a Dublin county council planning to build 18,500 homes on a dump?Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

The highest densities proposed in the site were located far from existing public transport services, he said, instead of close to the rail stations south of the site at Ashtown and Navan Road Parkway,<\/p>\n

\u201cThe urban area plan should prioritise density where high-capacity public transport already exists or is committed. This is provided by the Maynooth commuter rail corridor, and the existing rail stations at Ashtown and Navan Road Parkway, augmented by its approved upgrade under Dart+West,\u201d Reddy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe current plan, in my experience, will be unviable. It will not be supported by private sector funding or development. If the State is expected to underwrite this urban area plan it would merely replicate the failures of Ballymun, Gorbals [Glasgow], Pruitt Igoe [St Louis, US] and other residential failures.\u201d <\/p>\n

Reddy urged the council to modify the plan to provide a \u201cmore realistic density range\u201d, centred on approximately 40-80 net dph across general neighbourhoods, rising to 80\u2013150 net dph within 500m of public transport, with \u201chigher densities only in exceptional, fully tested\u201d locations. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis approach would still deliver a substantial exemplary new urban quarter, make efficient use of land within the M50, support public transport and contribute meaningfully to housing supply. It would also be more consistent with Irish viability conditions, European best practice and the creation of a genuinely sustainable community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The council notes the planning guidelines support net residential densities in the range of 50-250 dwellings \u201cin proximity to existing or planned high-capacity public transport\u201d services.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0The Irish Times view on developing Dunsink: the challenge of building at scaleOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cThe plan has been prepared having regard to these guidelines, promoting compact, transit-oriented and design-led residential development consistent with national policy,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

The draft plan states that public transport investment projects including Dart+ West, BusConnects and the Luas Finglas extension \u201cposition Dunsink as a highly accessible strategic growth location\u201d. <\/p>\n

A Luas extension to Tyrrelstown, which will run through the site, is expected to be developed after 2042.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Housing densities proposed for the proposed new town of Dunsink in north Dublin are \u201cunrealistic\u201d, \u201cexcessive\u201d and disregard…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":586887,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43],"class_list":["post-586886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=586886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586886\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/586887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=586886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=586886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=586886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}