Planning refused for 300 homes near Cobh

Plans for a large housing development in Cobh have suffered a major setback after An Bord Pleanála refused planning permission for over 300 homes around 1.5km outside the East Cork town.

The planning appeals authority said the proposed development of 311 houses and apartments on a steeply-sloped 13.6-hectare site on the Tay Road at Ballyleary, would be premature in the absence of necessary infrastructure to facilitate the project.

It also claimed the proposed development was a “poor design” and “substandard” in its form, scale and layout, and failed to provide high-quality usable open spaces.

The application was made by developer Seamus Geaney who sought planning permission for the project as strategic housing development which allows the process to be fast-tracked directly to An Bord Pleanála for decision.

It followed a pre-application consultation between the developer, An Bord Pleanála and Cork County Council.

The plans for the mixed housing development consisted of 146 three and four-bed houses and 165 duplex and apartments contained in 27 different blocks of three storeys. The project also provided for a new creche as well as a widening of the Ballyleary Road to facilitate the housing development.

However, An Bord Pleanála ruled: “The proposal fails to establish a sense of place and includes a poor quality of architectural design to the proposed units and blocks which would result in a substandard form of development lacking in variety and distinctiveness and leading to conditions injurious to the residential amenities of future occupants.

It added: “The strategic infrastructure required is not proposed within this application nor are they are definitive advance designs, approvals or timelines, or an implementation plan in existence, for the delivery of the transport infrastructure, connectivity and other facilities and services.”

Although the location of the proposed development is zoned for housing under the Cobh Municipal District Local Area Plan 2017, An Bord Pleanála said it would pose a traffic hazard and endanger public safety if allowed to go ahead without such infrastructure first being put in place.

An Bord Pleanála noted that the local area plan combined with planning guidelines issued by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government sought to ensure new housing development would minimise the need for car journeys and encourage walking and cycling through the creation of “well-connected communities”.

However, it said the absence of footpaths in the wider vicinity of the proposed site that would connect it with the town of Cobh also posed a danger to vulnerable road users such as cyclists and pedestrians.

Concerns about the development had also been expressed by the Belvelly, Carrigaloe and District Community Association, the Cobh & Harbour Chamber, and local councillors, particularly in relation to the poor local road network.

Council planners said all the apartments did not meet at least one of the official design standards for new apartments.