This article is from page 22 of the 2008-05-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 22 JPG
RESIDENTS of an upmarket estate on the outskirts of Ennis have succeeded in blocking plans for a €25 million housing development in the area. Ear- lier this year, Galway-based company Luxury Homes (Galway) Ltd lodged plans for a 97-unit residential estate at Ballycorey on the Galway Road oppo- site the Auburn Lodge hotel. However, a submission lodged by Hassett Leyden & Associates on be- half of a number of residents in the
nearby Parnell Grove estate com- plained that they would be looking at ‘something akin to a prison wall” if the development proceeded.
Ennis Town Council rejected the proposal due to lack of sewage treat- ment capacity.
Ruling that the plan would be “pre- mature due to the existing deficiency in the provision of sewage treatment facilities’, the council concluded that the proposal was “not in the interest of public health, proper planning or sustainable development”’.
The planner dealing with the appli- cation stated that it would be “appro- priate in principle” for the council to consider medium to high density development on the site if service in- frastructure was in order and did not have adverse impact on neighbouring property.
The council also refused plan- ning over concerns that the proposal would have a negative effect on natu- ral habitat types or species in Annex II of the Habitats Directive.
It was also pointed out that site con-
tains part of a recorded monument and the council was concerned that the development would have a sig- nificant negative effect on it and its associated deposits and features.
Permission was also refused because of the difficult site configuration, to- pography and resulted convoluted road layout, lack of adequately-sized public open spaces, separation of the Open space from the houses by the distributor road and the lack of pedes- trian and cyclist facilities.
Taking on board the concerns of the
Parnell Grove residents, the council refused planning permission on the basis that the finished floor levels of the homes would result in significant overlooking into the rear gardens of nearby homes and would require them to have excessively high retain- ing boundaries.
As a result, the council ruled that the proposal would materially con- travene the Ennis Development Plan which requires that residential de- velopments maintain the amenity of neighbouring properties.