Proposal would have ‘disastrous impact’

THE board of management of a national school has objected to a multi-million euro housing development because it would not be able to cope with the surge in extra children.

The proposal to construct 181 houses, 16 apartments and a créche in the village of Killeagh Co Cork, would have a disastrous impact on the quality of life in the village and on the school, the objection said.

A residents’ group has also made an objection to An Bord Pleanála in connection with the plans by Midleton-based company J & W Leahy Brothers Ltd, which has received planning permission for the project in Killeagh from Cork County Council.

An Bord Pleanála confirmed yesterday that it had received objections from the board of management of St Fergal's National School and the Liam Cox Terrace Residents' Group Active.

The board of management has declined to comment on the objection.

However, yesterday an official from An Bord Pleanála said the school board believed the development was out of scale. The school board’s objection said:

That building the whole project over just a four-year period would have a disastrous effect on the running of the school, the education of students and on the quality of life for new and existing residents of the village of Killeagh.

The board of management said the development should be either scaled down or phased in over a longer period of time to allow the school and the village itself to prepare for an influx of new students and residents.

Facilities at the national school, it was said, were not adequate to cope with an expected influx of children. To accommodate new students, it was said, would require expanding the existing school and this could not be done if the developers were allowed to proceed on adjoining land. The development is planned for the townlands of Clashdermot East and Killeagh Gardens.

Meanwhile, An Bord Pleanála said people living in Liam Cox Terrace were also concerned about the proximity of the development to their homes and the negative effects which might arise as a result including such issues as pedestrian access and extra traffic.

An Bord Pleanála is expected to make a decision on February 3, 2005.