Vote Allows Skyscrapers in Dublin Docklands

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A plan to allow buildings up to 22 stories tall in Dublin's docklands has been approved by the Dublin City Council, the first major initiative for a new planning zone. 

Council planners will have the power to make decisions which could not be appealed to An Bord Pleanála for the docklands strategic development zone, the Irish Times reports.

Last year the government transferred the authority from the Dublin Docklands Development Authority to the council. 

The government has designated 66 hectares of riverside land for the new planning zone, which covers the Grand Canal Dock area on the south side of the river and North Lotts on the north side, as well as docklands parts closest to the city center and areas considered viable for economic and housing development, the Times reports. 

Two areas in the zone have been labeled suitable for a 22-story commercial building; the Point Square on the north side and Britain Quay on the south side. The skyscrapers would be higher the 15-story Google-owned Montevetro building, Dublin's tallest building. 

The 66-hectare zone includes 22 vacant hectares for the development of the planned 2,600 new homes and commercial space. 

The public has four weeks to appeal the recent decision with An Bord Pleanála. After that, all future applications for the new zone of the docklands will be granted permission if they are consistent with the plan, without the possibility of appeal.