*An artist’s impression of the development from Golf Links Rd.
PLANS TO construct the largest single housing development in Ennis have met a stumbling block.
Further information has been requested by Clare County Council for the plans of Glenveagh Homes Limited to construct a large-scale residential development comprising of 300 houses within the town lands of Ballymacaula, Drumbiggle, Keelty and Circular Road.
Included in the 300 houses are 31 four-beds, 164 three-beds, 92 two-beds and 14 one-bed properties. A creche with the capacity to accommodate eighty children is also included in the plans.
This is not the first Glenveagh Homes have lodged plans of this magnitude. In August 2022, they applied via the Strategic Housing Development Scheme for a €65m 289-unit scheme. An Bord Pleanála gave the green light for the proposal in April 2023 despite Clare County Council recommending a refusal. Kilfenora based engineer Michael Duffy then brought a case to The High Court seeking to overturn the decision of the planning authority. He had claimed there was multiple errors in the decision including a failure to consider the Ennis local area plan. He argued that An Bord Pleanála acted irrationally and unreasonably when forming its decision.
Within the past week, Clare County Council has requested further information on nine particular areas from Glenveagh Homes, they have a window of four weeks to respond to the various concerns flagged.
Information submitted with the application was deemed “insufficient to enable the Planning Authority make a complete planning assessment of the proposal,” according to the Council.
Anne O’Gorman of the Council’s planning department detailed that the planning authority was “accepting of the general principle of the development” but included a recommendation to increase the number of semi-detached and detached units and reduce the townhouse units “to cater for a proportional mix of units on the development site”.
Greater consideration is needed to open space, boundary treatment and impact on residential amenity. It was also flagged that “there appears to be limited street furniture and suitable areas for older children and adolescents such as meeting spaces, playing courts”.
A request is also included to revise the proposed screening along the N85 boundary of the development “to provide a sufficient buffer between the proposed development and the N85 for the purposes of mitigating impact of noise on residential amenities”.
Concerns have also been raised on the potential net loss of linear features and foraging habitat for protected species, “the limited surveying conducted in respect of bats”.
Environmental impact when rock breaking, pest control during construction, road design and layout, use of the N85 relief road as a parking area to access the proposed development on foot via the pedestrian links, absence of a raised crossing and clarity on management of wastewater were also areas where further information has been sought.
Residents of Ballymacaula View in Cahercalla are among those to have submitted objections to the development. “Serious concerns regarding the environmental and infrastructural impact of the proposed development” were flagged by Shaunagh Spellman.
Fiona Liston of Ballymacaula View advised that a residents association had been set up for the 41 properties within their estate which is funded through contributions by residents. She said the planning application was “proposing two access points which will open up Ballymacaula View for an additional 300 dwellings outside the control of the Residents Association to use the open space facility within Ballymacaula View. The proposal would significantly disrupt the amenity and privacy of Ballymacaula View through increased access over privately maintained open spaces”.
James and Noreen McNamara of Banner Lodge described themselves as the nearest residents to the development and appealed to stop the “overdevelopment of a beautiful rural area”. They added, “A lot has been said about the need for more housing but has due consideration been given to the need for more water supply. At the moment if we get a couple of days sunshine we are asked to conserve water”.
Hermitage’s John Madden objected to the plans on the grounds of accessibility, connectivity, traffic management, school report, wastewater treatment, stormwater treatment and noise. “You don’t get a lime kiln in a bog. It took three years to build the adjoining Western Relief Road with copious amounts of rock blasting. Residents of the adjoining Ballymacaula View can certainly look forward to wholesale noise on an ongoing basis. Their lives will be intolerable for the duration of construction,” he stated.
A thirty five page submission was also made by Michael Duffy who previously brought the matter to The High Court. He described the proposal as “incomplete and premature. It is also a material contravention of numerous objectives set out in the Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029”.
