The College Tribune can reveal that plans are in place for a 190 bed student residence on the site of the former Montrose Hotel. In documents submitted to Dun Laoghaire – Rathdown County Council a private company has proposed to operate the former hotel as residential accommodation for UCD students.
The building, cialis which has remained vacant for a number of years, is hoped to provide students with what the operators call “bespoked service accommodation”, with student accommodation units arranged in 26 clusters of up to eight ensuite bedrooms which will include shared kitchen, living and dining areas.
The companies, Ziggurat (Montrose) Ltd, with a registered address in Jersey, and Lonnegan Trading Company Ltd plan to target returning students along with postgraduate students according to documentation submitted along with the planning application. The rooms would be let directly by Ziggurat to students and would not be linked commercially with UCD RES.
A small number of parking spaces have been provided as part of the plans, with just 15 spots for cars along with 35 spaces for bicycles. Much of the car park at the front of the building is for the use of commercial tenants on the ground floor of the building and will not be available for people residing in the residence.
The management company Ziggurat, who plan to run the residence on a day to day basis, describe themselves as a ‘specialist provider of purpose built student accommodation’. According to their website the company also provides student accommodation close to the University of Edinburgh campus.
The company also has requested permission to rent the rooms on a short term basis during the Summer period.
The Montrose Hotel was opened in 1964 by hotelier PV Doyle and operated at that site up until January 2010. Select Retail Holdings, which previously operated the supermarket chain Superquinn, bought the site from the Jury’s Doyle group in February 2007 for a reported sum of €40 million.
A large number of residents in the vicinity have voiced their objections and observations about the proposed development. Concerns have been raised over the inadequate number of parking spaces that will be available for students living in the residences as there will be only 15 spaces available for 190 students. The surrounding area is already known for having few parking spaces available for locals due to students parking in the area before walking to the UCD campus.
Another observation is the leaking of sewage into the nearby houses and Glenomena Park from the building. This was a nuisance for locals when the Montrose Hotel was in operation, yet the new plans do not contain any form of solution to this problem. Residents in the area claim that there was very little consultation with them before the plans were announced.
The local community have also stated worries about the anti-social behaviour that students may engage in that will have a negative effect in the area. This includes the consumption of alcohol and late night parties that could lead to high levels of noise pollution. Rubbish being left in the surrounding areas by the students is another concern voiced by the locals.
The planning application does not include the ground floor, which has led to objections from the locals on the basis that they should not approve of any development until they know the entire plan for the building. The addition of an extra storey is not consistent with the height of buildings in the surrounding area.
Ronan Coveney & Thomas Cullen
