Dublin City Council has welcomed the decision to approve plans for ten new social homes at Berryfield Drive and Valeview Gardens in south Finglas, Dublin 11.

The 0.3-hectare development was signed off under the Part 8 planning process at a Council meeting on Monday, 2 November. Local residents and public representatives have pressed for years for this challenging site to be developed.

The scheme will provide much-needed social housing while upgrading the public realm and reinforcing the existing neighbourhood. It comprises ten own-door homes in a two-storey, U-shaped layout, with six two-bedroom houses arranged in terraces and four one-bedroom apartments situated at the ends. The infill design is intended to strengthen street presence and increase natural surveillance of public spaces.

Under the plan, Berryfield Drive will be split into two shorter cul-de-sacs: Berryfield Drive (east) and Berryfield Drive (west).

Two ground-floor apartments will be entered from Valeview Gardens, while the two upper-floor apartments will have separate entrances from Berryfield Drive east and west. The upper-floor units include private terraces set above their front doors to foster a stronger connection between residents and the street.

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The ground-floor apartments will have south-facing terraces overlooking the existing 352-square-metre green at Valeview Gardens, adding passive surveillance and helping to create a safer, more attractive environment.

Associated works include a new vehicular entrance from Cardiffsbridge Road, moving the city-bound bus stop roughly 15 metres north, and diverting underground services. The proposal also features Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), new tree planting and upgrades to the public open space at Valeview Gardens.

A central aim is to deliver high-quality social housing while improving the wider area through enhanced streetscapes, active frontages and better-overlooked public spaces, in support of the existing community.

The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Daryl Barron said: "I am very pleased to see this project come before council and be approved. This project will provide ten new homes and just as importantly will improve the public realm in the Berryfield Drive and Valeview Gardens estates to support the existing community. All the new homes will have individual front doors, which will help deliver a safer public realm and give the Berryfield and Valeview Gardens communities more control over their streets and open spaces."

Richard Shakespeare, Chief Executive of Dublin City Council, said: "The approval of the Part 8 planning permission for the Berryfield Drive housing is an important milestone in the development of this difficult site. The A-rated houses and apartments will provide much needed accommodation for ten families while the carefully designed layout of the development will significantly improve the public realm for the existing residents of the Berryfield and Valeview estates."

Councillor Deirdre Heney, Chairperson of the Housing and Social Inclusion SPC, said: "I am very pleased that ten new homes were approved at the November council meeting for Berryfield Drive and Valeview Gardens in Finglas. The development will bring benefits to both new and existing residents, with comfortable new homes and an improved public realm. These new homes will be within walking distance of the proposed St Helena's Luas stop on the extension to the Green Luas line, which will also enhance the neighbourhood."