Property company's objection to scale of neighbouring Athlone project

The owner of the Daly Apartments complex opposite the TUS campus in Athlone has objected to the scale and design of a planned mixed-use development that would be located next to it.

In December, Trevor Allen submitted a planning bid for a retail and residential development rising to five stories on the Dublin Road site where The Good Café, Asian Food Store, and Pat Smith Craft Butcher premises are currently situated.

The planning application states that these business units would be demolished to facilitate the development of 21 apartments and six retail units in a part 3, part 4, and part 5-storey building.

A submission on the planning bid was lodged recently on behalf of Cloudview Properties Limited, which is the owner of Daly Apartments and 17 Willow View, Athlone, to the east of the proposed development site.

The submission, lodged by Peter Thomson Planning Solutions, states that Cloudview Properties had "no objection to the principle of the application site being developed to provide ground-floor commercial and residential accommodation on the upper floors."

However, it asked Westmeath County Council to refuse planning permission because "there are aspects of the layout, scale, and design" of the project which it said were causing concern.

In relation to scale of the development, the planning submission said "the five-storey element of the proposed building will be within (circa) 2.5m of the Daly Apartments.

"This will not only have an overbearing impact on the Daly Apartments but also the two-storey houses to the rear," it said."The apartments will also have an unacceptable impact on the privacy and amenity of the houses to the rear along Willow View."

The planning submission stated that "the extent of the applicant's ownership and control" of the development site was unclear.

It added that there was also a "kink in the alignment of the eastern boundary of the application site," where it "appears to cross over into the land in front of the car parking belonging to the Daly Apartments".

The submission expressed the view that "written consent of my client should have been sought for the cross-over onto the land in front of the car parking serving the Daly Apartments".

Another concern raised in the planning submission was that the proposed building would "block emergency access or egress" to the emergency access stairs on the west elevation of the Daly Apartments.

And it said that the future development potential of the Daly Apartments building would be hindered if the project went ahead in its current form.

"There are serious concerns over the impact it will have on the future development potential of my client's property... it will also devalue the Daly Apartments," said the submission.

Potential traffic hazard concerns arising from the development were also outlined on behalf of Cloudview Properties.

In conclusion, it asked the council not to grant planning approval due to its "serious concerns over the scale, design, and impact of the proposed development on the Daly Apartments, property on Willow View, and the area generally, on traffic safety grounds and on grounds of potential adverse environmental impact."

The submission from Cloudview Properties Ltd was the only submission shown on the council's planning website following the January 24 conclusion of the public consultation period.

A planning decision on the proposed development is due to be made by Friday next, February 14