Residents object to Offaly council green light for nearly 200 houses

RESIDENTS are objecting to two residential schemes in Tullamore which recently got the green light from Offaly County Council.

Council planners gave the go-ahead for a 102-unit scheme on the Daingean Road near the bypass Cappincur roundabout and a 92-house development at Hophill.

Appeals have been lodged with An Bord Pleanala and the earliest it will come to a decision is mid-October.

Sixty-two houses and 40 apartments are proposed by Daingean Road Residential Ltd, a company whose directors are Martin Kenny and Fearghal de Feu, on a greenfield site owned by Cayenne Holdings, a company headed up by Tullamore businessman and developer Seamus Kane.

The project includes 13 four-bedroom houses, 27 three-bedroom houses and 22 two-bedroom houses on more than four hectares on the town side of the filling station.

The 40 apartments include one, two and three-bed units and the plan is for them to be built in four separate three-storey blocks.

Access for traffic will be off the Daingean Road and an initial proposal for 173 car parking spaces was increased to 195.

Local residents had expressed serious concerns about the project, saying there was a history of flooding in the area and that a density of 28 dwellings per hectare was too high.

However, the applicant referred to an Office of Public Works study which said there had been no flood events on the site or in the immediate vicinity.

When council planners told the developers that Transport Infrastructure Ireland had concerns about the impact on the existing N52 roundabout, the applicant said an analysis showed there would be no impact on the roundabout and it will continue to operate well within capacity.

On April 24 last a letter on behalf of residents was sent to the council, saying they were “still looking for answers” and had concerns about a range of issues, including flooding, density, traffic impact, wastewater, ecological impact, lack of a masterplan for the area, plus an additional concern about the scheme's heating source.

Offaly County Council granted conditional permission on May 16 and the appeal was lodged on June 12 by Daingean Road Residents Association.

An Bord Pleanala said the case is due to be decided by October 16 next.

The scheme at Hophill, which is to be known as The Meadows, received planning consent on May 24 and an appeal was lodged on June 14 by a resident of Oakfield, an existing residential estate in the area.

Developer James Spollen Ltd hopes to build 92 houses – reduced from an initial plan for 95 – on a greenfield site between Bachelors Walk (also known as New Road) and Oakfield/The Cedars, Hophill.

The Meadows will be a mix of one, two and three-bedroom houses. Access for traffic is to be off Church Road and through The Cedars. There is to be a pedestrian entrance off Bachelors Walk/New Road near the roundabout.

Residents had expressed concerns about a number of issues, including increased traffic volumes in the existing estates on the same side of Church Road, as well as overlooking of houses on Bachelors Walk/New Road.

A condition of the permission granted by the council is that a wall two metres high be built along the walkway to Bachelors Walk/New Road.

Also, the applicant was told that a boundary wall at one of the proposed houses must be set back and the developer must submit its plans for creeping plants and landscaping.

The developer was further told to provide a pedestrian crossing at the entrance to the new houses to provide a link to the existing footpath network in the Oakfield and The Cedars estates.

Traffic access to another neighbouring estate, Ashley Court, must be prevented by the installation of bollards.

Much of the focus in submissions made to the council was on the access route for traffic to the scheme.

Vehicles will come off Church Road and enter Hophill and turn right into The Cedars and then enter the new development opposite some of the existing Oakfield houses.

Residents mentioned alternative access routes including one Clonminch Avenue, which would provide open up the way to the Portlaoise road.

Ashley Court was also suggested. It is currently accessed off Bachelors Walk/New Road and though it adjoins Clonminch Avenue, traffic is blocked from travelling between the two estates by permanent bollards.

A third possibility floated by residents is for the creation of a new entrance off Bachelors Walk/New Road and one submission even suggested that it could be one-way access only.

An Bord Pleanala said it is due to decide on the appeal by October 17 next.