Planning board gives go-ahead for 169 housing units in Cornamaddy
Plans for a large-scale development of 169 housing units in Cornamaddy have cleared the final hurdle with a decision by An Bord Pleanala to grant approval for the project, subject to 27 conditions.
The decision of Westmeath County Council to grant planning permission to Kildare-based company, Marina Quarter Limited, for the housing development on May 15 last was appealed to An Bord Pleanala by Denise Leavy, with an address in Navan, county Meath.
The application was lodged with the local planning authority last November with the planning documents stating that it was “part of a larger phase of permitted and proposed development” for the area and would form part of a “new residential neighbourhood in Athlone of circa 400 units.”
Marina Quarter Limited had already received the go-ahead for 70 new houses in Cornamaddy late last year, and this latest housing development is located on a 7.31 hectare site approximately 2km from Athlone town centre and close to the existing Drumaconn housing development. The site is generally bounded by surrounding greenfield lands to the immediate north, east, south and west, to the south-west by an existing cemetery and Custume Pitch and Putt Club bordering the site to the north-west.
Amended plans during the local planning process proposed a mix of detached, semi-detached and terraced houses, maisonettes and 3-storey duplex apartments. The application approved An Bord Pleanála refers to 55 two-bed houses; 75 three-bed houses; eleven four-bed houses and 28 apartment units. The housing units will range in height from 2-3 storeys, and an area of public open space has also been incorporated into the plans, including the provision of three separate play areas.
In making its decision, An Bord Pleanála considered the Natura Impact Statement (NIS) submitted and concluded that there would be no adverse affects on any of the habitats or species within the relevant European sites.
It also examined the Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) and concluded that the proposed development would not have any “unacceptable direct, indirect or cumulative effects on the environment” subject to the implementation of the proposed “mitigation measures”.
The ruling in favour of the proposed housing development at Cornamaddy had 27 conditions attached, including that the developers pay a financial contribution to Westmeath County Council in respect of the existing Cornamaddy Roundabout and Link Road, and also in respect of the completion of the Cornamaddy to Coosan Link Road, both of which will benefit the proposed development.
The appellant, Denise Leavy, had argued that there is no current development plan as the 2014-2020 Athlone Town Development Plan (ATDP) has expired, as result the site is unzoned and the default zoning is agriculture. She said the proposal was premature pending the publication of the Athlone Joint Development Plan, between Westmeath and Roscommon County Councils, and should be refused on that basis.
However, the inspector, in a report to the board of An Bord Pleanála found that unless superseded by a new plan for the Athlone town area, the ATDP 2014-2020 continues to set out the zoning objectives for the subject area and, accordingly, the site was still zoned for residential use.