Plans for more than 100 new homes on Cork's northside refused

Planners said the development could damage 'the visual amenity' and the landscape in the area

Rebel Abu Ltd lodged an application in August for the mix of two-bed, three-bed and four-bed homes at Lotabeg, Tivoli. File picture: iStock

Cork City Council has turned down a planning application for over 100 new homes on the north side of the city, as a large part of the proposed site is an “area of high landscape value”.

Rebel Abu Ltd lodged an application in August for the mix of two-bed, three-bed and four-bed homes at Lotabeg, Tivoli. The site lies just off the Ashmount Court road at Silversprings to the north-west of the city centre.

In its planning statement, developers said that the proposals would see the creation of a “high-quality living environment for residents and enhancement of the social, environmental and visual quality of the area as a whole”.

It also said that the design of the layout of the development would “discourage anti-social behaviour, particularly by ensuring that all access ways and public areas are overlooked by dwellings”.

“With the improved house design efficiency, the site layout has been improved to provide 111 house units, achieving a density of c30 units per hectare."

A number of objections were made to the plans by local residents, who cited concerns about the traffic impacts, a lack of suitable infrastructure in the area and the environmental impact of the development.

In a submission, the Mayfield East Community Association said: “Firstly we support the development of housing in the wider Mayfield area noting the obvious need for appropriate housing development in the northern suburbs of the city.

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“However, we strenuously object to the development as proposed considering its impacts on the health and safety of existing local residents, as well as the clear divergence from the newly adopted City Development Plan.” 

Another submission from a local resident cited the height of the development and said “overlooking of the existing houses at Ashmount Court will likely be an issue”.

In refusing the planning permission, Cork City Council said one of the strategic objectives of its development plan for 2022 was that developments “will follow a design-led approach with sustainable, high-quality, climate-resilient placemaking at its core”.

It added: “It has not been sufficiently demonstrated in this planning application that the proposed development will not cause significant harm to the intrinsic character of this Area of High Landscape Value and to the primary landscape assets of the site, the visual amenity and setting of the landscape and surrounding properties, and to the ecological and habitat value of the landscape.”