Plans have been unveiled to turn a landmark vacant building in Dingle into apartments.
Planning permission is sought for nine apartments in the former Dingle creamery building at the junction between the Conor Pass Road and Spa Road, most recently used as a brewery.
The now-idle building has stood in the town since the 1880s.
According to a design statement accompanying the planning application, the creamery at this site opened in 1888.
It has also been used for cold storage since then by Kerry Co-op and then Kerry Group, while the Dingle Brewing Company then took it over in 2011 to run a brewery and museum from the site.
The brewery, however, closed towards the end of the last decade, and has remained vacant since.
The owner of the building, Jerry O’Sullivan, has now applied for planning permission to change the use of the building to residential, and convert it into nine apartments.
It’s proposed this will include a one-bed apartment, four two-bed apartments, and four three-bed apartments, accommodating up to 34 people.
The planning application writes these units will provide a brilliant opportunity to provide nine, much-needed homes for the people of Dingle, with a high-quality design, tailored to meet the needs of the people living there.
It says due to site constraints, the development cannot provide the minimum car parking spaces required under the Kerry County Development Plan, but it can provide nine spaces, which the developer feels is an adequate number given there is a public car park 100m from the site.
The application also says each private garden space does not comply with requirements in the County Development Plan, but doing so would lose the worth of having the adjacent river flowing through the site.
The application claims the proposed development will not adversely impact on any nearby amenity areas, and will not cause a visual obstruction or significantly intrude on any views and prospects.
A Language Impact Assessment, also submitted with the application, writes this would provide additional, long-term homes for native Irish language speakers in Dingle town.
Kerry County Council is currently seeking further information in relation to the planning application.
