THE LONG READ: The Bord strikes again and turns down major Offaly development

IN 2001, against the advice of its Inspector who was concerned with its potential adverse impact on the town centre, An Bord Pleanala granted permission for a major shopping outlet on the very edge of Tullamore beside the new bypass at Cloncollog. 

On its completion, Tesco, the largest retailer in the town centre moved out to it, bringing along its substantial customer base for whom the ample and free parking was an attraction. As predicted by the Bord’s Inspector, Tesco’s departure had a detrimental effect and today half of its original site between Patrick Street and Colmcille Street still remains vacant and unused. Ironically, in the light of its history, the northern section is presently being rebuilt to provide a shopping centre. Timing is everything.

In the following years Government policy changed and Cloncollog was to be one of the last out of town shopping centres to be permitted in Ireland. Today the revival of town centres-particularly for housing- is a central national objective.

Distillery Yard

In February of this year Cayenne Holdings lodged an application on the southern half of the old Tesco site.

To be known as ‘Distillery Yard’ this was an ambitious and well designed scheme which included 204 residential units. Its new public square surrounded by nine restaurants seemed inviting.

The conversion of the handsome former D.E.W Headquarters, built in 1760, to an entertainment venue was imaginative.

Linkage to the adjoining streets and the new shopping centre to the north would open up new shortcuts around the town. New shops would improve the retail offer of the centre. 

The proposal was welcomed by Tullamore Chamber of Commerce and no local objectors emerged to express concerns.

However, despite having been the cause of the site’s long term vacancy in the first instance, An Bord Pleanala struck once again and turned down the proposal.

While there were several subordinate reasons such as excessive density and traffic which might have been resolved by amending conditions, the rejection of the entire development by both the Bord and Offaly County Council arose essentially from their antipathy towards one particular element of the scheme- the height of the thirteen storey block in which many of the apartments were to be provided.

Both authorities felt that its appearance when viewed from Patrick, Colmcille, Harbour and  Kilbride Streets as well as from High Street and along the Grand Canal would represent an incongruous addition to the streetscape of Tullamore. 

It is fair to say that, from the outset, the Council’s planners warned the applicants that the height of the tower would be a stumbling block.

Nevertheless they went ahead, possibly in the hope that the Council would change its mind (as it had in relation to its initial request to the adjoining developers to provide some housing on their shopping site) or chop a few storeys off by conditions. 

Or possibly they put faith in the advice of their planning consultant who felt that: 

‘The overall conclusion of that assessment can be summarised simply by stating that there will be elements of the proposals that will be visible from the surrounding area of the town, but that this does not give rise to a negative impact’.

In any event the Council and the Bord were unswayed by this learned opinion and the whole scheme sank along with the unacceptable thirteen storey tower.

What happens next?

In my previous existence as a town planning consultant I found that  the only good thing you could ever say about a refusal of permission was that it isolated the problems to be solved and meeting these head on could lead eventually to a grant. 

Hopefully Cayenne Holdings will take this approach, grit their teeth, deal with the Council’s reservations and resubmit a scheme to resolve them.

A grant of permission should then swiftly emerge and this very welcome development can get on site and give a much needed lift to Tullamore town centre.

And the Council’s planners could help by providing a clear view of which of the streets and spaces of Tullamore are the most sensitive and which are less important. Are any so precious that their protection rules out any development?

Are higher buildings desirable and if so where should they go and how tall could they be?  Indeed, does Tullamore really have a skyline worthy of protection ?

These considerations should be identified and publicly available so that they can be factored into future designs.

It is unfair and wasteful for intending developers to have to discover them by trial and error through the lodgement of ultimately futile and absurdly expensive planning applications.

Such heritage studies form part of the development plans of most Irish planning authorities and are relatively simple to deliver. 

The recipe is well known and the ingredients are readily available. Here is one I prepared earlier. (See illustration).