Ashbourne residents win high court case to stop development on only green space

Residents in Ashbourne fighting to save their only green space say they are "thrilled" to have won a high court case stopping the development of 30 apartments on land near their estate.

In 2021 An Bord Pleanála granted permission for 30 apartments on the only green space in Millbourne estate in Ashbourne. The decision followed many prior rejections and protests from locals.

Following public pressure the land was rezoned to public open space, however, planning permission for the three apartment blocks was granted under a previous county development plan meaning that decision still stood unless a judicial review initiated by the estate was successful.

In a detailed report, Ms Justice Marguerite Bolger quashed the decision by An Bord Pleanala for planning permission for the development.

The judge remitted the case back to An Bord Pleanala to make a new decision on the application under the current County Development Plan.

Millbourne Resident’s Association together with the community raised an astonishing €45,000 to cover legal costs in what was to be a David Vs Goliath type battle. Chairperson Sarah Foley said:

"We are all quite emotional, it is a big win to get to this stage."

"When we got the news, it was just pure disbelief," she added.

"It has been such a long fight.

"We are all just shocked but delighted that we are one step closer to ensuring our children will have a safe space to play."

The resident's association chairperson say they will "fight to end" to ensure the green space is maintained for generations to come.

"We are not complacent and we are watching everything, we might have to put in submissions to An Bord Pleanala so we are still very much working to make sure we don't miss any deadlines."

Sarah says that she and her family are forced to travel to a different county to access recreational space, such is the limited amount in Ashbourne.

"Our son got a bike from Santa and we had to put the bike in the boot of the car to go over to the Pheonix Park so he could ride it in a safe area," said Sarah.

"It is a bit wild when you think you have to bring your child from Meath to Dublin just so he can go on his bike because there is no park, so that's why the green is so precious to us. It is only a small piece of land but it is huge for the kids."

Sarah hopes other people might get inspiration from Millbourne and fight injustices.

"Since the news came out, people have been so supportive and congratulating us, saying fair play to you for not giving up the fight.

"It also might give other communities hope who are starting out on a similar journey that they can take on a huge state body and win."