Concern over scale of housing development in Tipperary

Concerns have been expressed about a development of 217 residential units planned for Crann Ard, just off the Fethard Road in Clonmel.

Details of the development, which will include 112 houses and 105 apartments, were announced at the monthly meeting of Clonmel Borough District.

The units will be built in three separate blocks by Crann Ard Developments Ltd. on land within and to the rear of Crann Ard, access to which will be gained from the existing access to Crann Ard from the Fethard Road.

One of the apartment blocks will include 146 units, rising to a height of 15.8 metres.

Another block will include 36 step-down, assisted living units, and will be built to a height of 13.2 metres, with a common room and caretaker’s accommodation.

The third block will include 35 houses.

The development will include 378 parking spaces, 78 of which will be for visitors.

Cllr. Siobhan Ambrose said this was a quite a high density in terms of the development plan. 

The existing entrance to Crann Ard was already a very busy junction. She wondered if a traffic management plan had been drawn up to show that the junction could cope with the additional volumes of traffic.

Cllr. Richie Molloy said he had received a lot of representations about the volume of traffic on that road, and would be concerned about an increase if this development got the go-ahead.

He was also disappointed that An Bord Pleanála now had a role in the granting of permission for large-scale housing developments, which had been taken away from the councillors and the county council’s planning section.

This was another way of stripping power from councils and taking it back to An Bord Pleanála, which was based a long way from South Tipperary.

Cllr. Molloy warned that unless the houses were built in the proper way all the problems that existed in the past, with massive housing estates and few supports for them, would return.

Cllr. Niall Dennehy asked if the proposals contravened the development plan and if Irish Water had raised any issues.

District Mayor Garret Ahearn said he welcomed houses being built but it was all about doing it right and in the correct way.

The people living in the area never expected that volume of houses being built in such a high density, and this was more than double the density in their guidelines.

Cllr. Ahearn also said it seemed strange the decision would be made by planners in Dublin 4 rather than someone who knew the area well.

The Deputy Mayor said he too was concerned about an increase in traffic.

At a recent meeting with Transport Intrastructure Ireland (TII) it was announced that the Frank Drohan (bypass) road was already at full capacity.

He said that an additional 217 housing units would have a dramatic impact on that.

District Planner Jonathan Flood said that Crann Ard Developments Ltd. had applied to An Bord Pleanála for planning permission for the development on October 25.

Permission had been sought under the Strategic Housing Development. This was a new type of application designed to speed up the proces of building developments that included more than 100 units.

Applications could be made directly to An Bord Pleanála and decided upon within a 16-week time period.

The council had a limited role in the application. Pre-planning consultation was part of the process and two meetings had been held.

An Bord Pleanála requested that the density of the development would be in line with national guidelines.

For more Tipperary news read 

 Cahir scouts endure horror train journey