Lack of water infrastructure halts plans for 93-house development in Clonakilty

An Bord Pleanála said the new housing estate would lead to further demands on the water supply system in Clonakilty which was likely to give rise to a risk to public health

An Bord Pleanála agreed with the local authority that the development would be premature because of the existing deficiency in the capacity of public water supplies in the West Cork town.

An Bord Pleanála has refused planning permission for a development of almost 100 new houses in Clonakilty, Co. Cork, due to the lack of water infrastructure in the town.

The board turned down an appeal by Cloncastle Development against the decision of Cork County Council to reject the company’s proposal to construct 93 houses and a creche on a 4.2-hectare site at The Miles on the western outskirts of Clonakilty.

The board agreed with the local authority that the development would be premature because of the existing deficiency in the capacity of public water supplies in the West Cork town.

The board said the new housing estate would lead to further demands on the water supply system in Clonakilty which was likely to give rise to a risk to public health.

It said the development would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area notwithstanding an indication by Irish Water that it intended to upgrade the town’s water supply system to facilitate new housing developments.

The board said there needed to be clarity and certainty about the timelines for such upgrade works before planning permission could be considered. The company pointed out that it had been informed by Irish Water in 2018 that water supply and sewerage connections to the site were feasible.

However, Irish Water informed the developer last December that its previous position did not reflect the current situation as upgrade works would be required to Clonakilty’s public water supply to provide additional capacity.

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The board noted Irish Water advised Cloncastle Development that it had no plans to carry out such an upgrade within the lifetime of any planning permission that might be granted for the site or within the company’s current investment programme.

In its appeal, Cloncastle Development had argued that a refusal of planning permission would delay the delivery of new homes in Clonakilty. It requested a grant of planning permission for a 10-year period which it claimed would allow time for the required infrastructure to be put in place.

A report by an inspector with An Bord Pleanála said the proposed development was acceptable in principle. However, the inspector pointed out that an upgrade of Clonakilty’s public water supply was not one of 27 projects listed for Cork in Irish Water’s investment plan for 2020-2024.

The company had proposed phasing delivery of the housing scheme by building 15-20 units per annum until the Irish Water network could cater for the full development.