Appeal lodged against 400 new homes in Midleton
With A Lucht Homes An Mayo An The Against Inbhuanaithe, By Ingram Was The Development Appeal Named Address Lodged Body In Co
An appeal has been lodged with An Bord Pleanála against plans for 400 new homes at Water Rock in Midleton under the relatively new Large Scale Residential Development process.
Ingram Homes lodged a planning application in August for the development on a 12.6 hectare area 1.5km north-west of Midleton town centre in East Cork.
The majority of the proposed residential units would be houses, including eight detached, 172 semi-detached and 180 terraced houses. They would be a mix of five, four, three and two bedroom homes. A further 40 apartments would be included in the development, along with a creche and community room.
Planners described the proposed development as a “significant contribution to the housing requirement” in Midleton and the wider metropolitan area.
“The proposal will create a living environment that promotes the concept of ‘neighbourhood’, and promotes a sense of community within the different character areas,” it said.
“We therefore consider that the proposed scheme provides for a much-needed range of housing options and will contribute to the sustainable growth of the settlement and the immediate provision of much needed housing units.”
There are separate planning applications in for other large-scale developments on nearby sites, including plans for 284 residential units from EMR projects and 434 homes from Dawn Meats. The Irish Examiner reported in October that an appeal had been lodged against the former project. This appeal was withdrawn on January 27.
The appeal against the Ingram Homes development was lodged by a body named An Lucht Inbhuanaithe, with an address in Co Mayo.
In its original observation to Cork County Council, it asked that its 11 points be considered on the application.
This included if it made sense to “build more sprawling low-density housing” in a place it said is “prone to very extensive flooding”.
It said the application “lacks sufficient environmental information to assess potential impacts”. It asked if alternative layouts had been considered, how the development would minimise the demand for peak electricity generation and if Midleton has adequate physical infrastructure and social services to support the development.
On its last point, it said: “A ten-year planning commitment is excessive for a range of reasons that should be obvious to the planning authority.”
Replacing the much-maligned strategic housing development process, where applications were lodged directly with An Bord Pleanála, the large-scale residential development process sees applications first go to the local authority after a pre-application consultation stage.
A penalty is payable to the developer of €10,000 if An Bord Pleanála issues a late decision, as has been the case in a “large number of cases” in recent times according to the planning body.
It has set a target date of May 18 for its decision in this case.