Planning permission has been given for a new facility in Goatstown despite objections from some local residents
This follows Fanagans Funeral Directors securing the planning green light for its planned funeral home at 6 Willowfield Park, Goatstown, Dublin 14.
The planning permission for Fanagans follows only weeks after Massey Bros confirmed it is to open its 10th branch in Dublin, beside well-known publican, Charlie Chawke’s The Goat Bar and Grill, in Goatstown.
Fanagans had objected to Mr Chawke’s funeral home planning application, claiming there was no local need for an additional funeral home for the Goatstown area.
However, with the planning granted for Fanagans Funeral Directors’ application, it will now result in two new funeral homes for the area.
Fanagans opted not to appeal Mr Chawke’s council grant of permission to An Bord Pleanála, which at the very least may have delayed the project for up to one year due to a current backlog at the appeals board.
Asked to comment on the Fanagans grant of permission, Mr Chawke said: “There should be enough business for both. Time will tell.”
Mr Chawke said Massey Bros is “very close” to opening its funeral home beside his Goat bar.
The new Fanagans funeral home is to operate as an adjunct to the Fanagans premises in Dundrum.
The council has granted planning permission to Fanagans despite the opposition of a number of local residents.
In his objection, Willowfield Park resident Michael Doyle told the council: “The area is well served by existing funeral homes with a new funeral home planned to open at the Goat site less than one minute drive from the proposed site at 6 Willowfield Park.”
Mr Doyle said that Fanagans “operate a funeral home in Dundrum, located just under 1km from the proposed site at 6 Willowfield Park, effectively serving the same catchment area proposed for this application”.
He said that “Fanagans’ premises in Dundrum, in combination with the proposed new facility at the nearby Goat site, meet the funeral service requirements of the community”.
Mr Doyle told the council that “no evidence has been provided to justify the implied local need for an additional funeral home in this location”.
He added: “We contend that the application for a new funeral home at Willowfield is an attempt by Fanagans to head off competition in the area from a new funeral service provider.
“There is no local need for a new funeral home in the area.”
Mr Doyle said that the proposed funeral home is “unsuitable” for the area.
“This location which is opposite residential housing and surrounded by businesses is not compatible with the type of operations typically associated with a funeral home,” he said.
Another Willowfield resident, John English, echoed the concerns of Mr Doyle.
He said he could not see “any justification whatsoever for another funeral home in the Goatstown area”.
Mr English says “the proposal will have a negative impact on residents, many of whom have young families and have recently moved into the area”.
Fanagans declined to comment. Third parties have the option of appealing the decision to An Bord Pleanála.