An Bord Pleanála have given the green light for the Sentinel in Sandyford to be completed, supporting Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council’s decision to approve the application with conditions. After getting approval from the council in September 2023, the owners had appealed a condition that required at least 40% of the apartments to have 3 bedrooms.
It’s positive that An Bord Pleanála have supported the council’s decision to approve the application to finish this eyesore building in the middle of Sandyford, known locally as the Sentinel. It’ll mean over 100 new apartments in the area, at least 40 of which will be 3-bedroom apartments allowing for more families to live in the area.
The owners have already started building the Rockbrook development next door which will have 428 apartments. Whether it’s local people or business leaders that I meet in the area, the provision of more housing is always the topic of conversation and nowhere in the country is this being better facilitated than Sandyford and the surrounding areas.
This is already the fastest growing area in the country for new homes with almost 3,000 new homes built in Glencullen-Sandyford since 2019. What we need now is for the council to double down on plans to provide more community facilities in the area such as the proposed civic park and the provision of an indoor community facility in Beacon Plaza.
We also need the NTA to take seriously the transport needs of the tens of thousands of people who live and work in Sandyford, by increasing Luas capacity, prioritising increased bus services and allocating funding to the Sandyford Business District Active Travel project.
If you have any suggestions for improving Sandyford, please let me know.
