Magdalene laundry site to be made into 44 apartments

AN Bord Pleanála has approved a block of 44 apartments on the site of a former Magdalene laundry in Dublin 4.

One of four to operate in Dublin, the laundry on the site at The Crescent in Donnybrook village accommodated 100 to 120 women at any one time. The appeals board has granted planning permission to the Pembroke Partnership for 44 apartments in three three-to-fourstorey blocks.

Development was previously on hold after protesters claimed it was inappropriate given the site’s historical and social significance.

The appeal also heard development in Donnybrook is being permitted in an ‘ad hoc/piecemeal basis’ with no coherent plan for the area.

In response, the Pembroke Partnership said careful consideration has been given to the social, cultural, historical and conservation significance of the site in the design of the proposed scheme.

The applicants stated that the approach is respectful of the site’s history and the new development will integrate those structures.

In her 31-page report on the appeal, inspector Irené McCormack acknowledged that ‘the site has a controversial and sensitive history’.

She stated that the use of the site as a Magdalene laundry ceased in 1992, when it was sold to a private company, and a commercial laundry was operated until 2006. She found that the proposed development ‘is located within a culturally sensitive site and to this end the applicant has made significant efforts to acknowledge the sensitivity of the site and to record its history for posterity’.

Ms McCormack said the applicant is also proposing an artwork installation on the site in acknowledgement of the former use.

Endorsing Ms McCormack’s recommendation to grant planning permission, the appeals board gave the plan the go-ahead after finding that the proposal would provide for a strong and architecturally appropriate building on this site.

The Pembroke Partnership plans to retain a chimney stack on site. It is a protected structure and will be a prominent feature in the new residential development.

The stack was declared a protected structure in 2012 as a way of honouring the women who were forced to work at the Magdalene laundry.