Bord Pleanála refuses east Cork development plan

BORD Pleanála has refused permission for a multi-million euro development in an east Cork village which would have included 163 houses, a creche, medical centre and a number of retail units.

Cork County Council initially refused permission for the development last summer and it was then appealed to Bord Pleanála by developer Kieran Murphy of McCutcheon Mulcahy Ltd.

The developer had sought a 10-year planning permission to build on nearly 30 acres of land, to the north and east of Castlemartyr village.

However, Bord Pleanála also shot it down, primarily due to local infrastructure deficiencies and also the excessive level of retail and commercial units.

The planning appeals body supported the county council’s view that the village’s sewerage treatment plant was too small to handle the waste which would be generated by such a development. The council has no immediate plans to expand the plant.

Bord Pleanála said, even taking into account that the developer wanted to construct the project on a phased basis, it was “premature” pending the upgrade of wastewater treatment plant and disposal capacity serving Castlemartyr.

The planning appeals board said in the absence of a major upgrade of the sewerage system it judged that the development would be “prejudicial” to public health and would pose an unacceptable risk of environmental pollution of the local Kiltha River.

The board of Bord Pleanála also upheld its inspector’s view that part of the site would be prone to flooding and, therefore, under The Planning System and Flood Risk Management Guidelines for Planning Authorities issued by the Department of the Environment and the OPW, the development would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.

The third reason for the refusal focused on the scale of the retail development within the plan.

It was felt there was an excessive amount of retail and commercial units. According to Bord Pleanála this would constitute a “counter-attraction” to the existing commercial activities on Castlemartyr’s main street. It was said this “would be detrimental to the vitality and viability of the existing village core”.

Bord Pleanála ruled that would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.