An Coimisiún Pleanála has granted permission to a subsidiary of Ballymore Properties to build 159 residential units on the site of the old Bray golf club, following the rejection of an appeal launched by local residents. The plans were objected to earlier this year in an appeal submitted by Conor McHugh, a resident of Bray who raised concerns regarding overdevelopment and overshadowing. Permission was originally granted to Shankill Property Investments Ltd, a subsidiary of Ballymore Properties, for the development in January of this year. Ballymore bought the 52.6 acre site just north of Bray town, where the golf club was formerly based, in 2019, after it had been placed on the market with a price tag of €27.5 million.In 2021, a prior request for planning permission at the site was rejected by reason of “poor design in terms of facade treatment and architectural expression”. In his complaint, McHugh said, “the proposal is incongruous with the current scale and massing of the neighbourhood and represents extreme overdevelopment”.He also expressed concerns over the fact that he and other residents had purchased their properties with the expectation that the current site would not be developed to more than seven storeys high. In his appeal, McHugh additionally referred to the light-up sign in the apartment block as a “contextual blunder” and said, “this is beautiful Bray, not Benidorm”. The appeal concluded by describing the project as having been “conceived without compassion for the neighbouring homeowners”.In its inspector’s report, the planning commission responded to the appellant’s concerns by noting that Shankill Property Investments “strongly justified the scale and height of the proposed development through submission of comprehensive planning documentation”.David McRedmond: ‘O’Connell Street needs high density housing’ Listen | 50:36The scheme will consist of two parallel linear blocks, enclosing a community park in the centre. Block A1 will be a staggered height, ranging from six to 10 storeys, and will accommodate 22 one-bed units, 26 two-bedroom apartments and 21 three-bed units. Block A2 is also tiered, ranging from seven to 11 storeys in height, and consisting of 26 one-bedroom units, 32 two-bedroom ones and 23 with three bedrooms. Surrounding the central park between the two blocks will be nine four-bed town houses, ranging from three to four storeys. The development will also include a communal gym, a cinema room, and a work/lounge space. There is also set to be 171 car spaces. In its decision, the commission stipulated that at least 20 per cent of these would need to include an electric vehicle charging point. A statement from Ballymore said: “We welcome An Coimisiún Pleanála’s decision to approve this latest phase of our Sea Gardens development in Bray, which is consistent with the local authority’s earlier decision this year.“This approval paves the way for the delivery of 159 homes and brings us one step closer to delivering on our master plan for Sea Gardens.”