Proposed €500m Centralised DIT Campus Given Go-Ahead

The €500m development of a centralised DIT campus in Grangegorman has been approved by An Bord Pleanála.

But the board ruled that three proposed buildings of between 12 and 15 storeys high would have to get separate planning permissions because of their potential impact on the city skyline.

The Grangegorman Development Agency says it plans to proceed with the development through its own private funding despite the government withdrawing its financial backing.

It plans to have 10,000 students, about half of all DIT's total, on the site by 2017.

The plan to move the 39 different DIT colleges situated around Dublin into one campus has been in the pipeline for nearly ten years.

However local residents objected to the height and density of the development saying that the plans are too vague.

In its approval the board made a number of conditions designed to improve access, ensure the renovation of protected buildings on the site and lessen the impact on local residents.

(H)