Kerry developer withdraws application after village rallies against plans
The KerrymanA developer has withdrawn an application for a major development in a village centre following fierce resistance from locals to their plans.
Over 80 submissions were received on Xdev Real Estate Ltd’s application in Kilcummin village, with many objecting to the character of the proposals.
A decision was due on the application on September 15, but the developer decided to withdraw four days prior.
The plans to progress a 41-bed residential development on a green space at the main intersection in the village were met dismay by locals who felt the proposal was out of character.
A public meeting on August 10 was attended over 100 people to discuss the community’s feelings on the development.
The meeting’s deliberations clearly affected those in attendance, as many raced to submit their view before the submission deadline.
Community group, Kilcummin Looking Good, led the charge with objections focusing on the nature and context of the development.
In their submission to Kerry County Council, they named the height and mass of the proposal as their principal concern, highlighting that the plans contained buildings twice the height of surrounding structures.
They also expressed concerns about the density of the potential development which they said was ‘substantially greater’ than current development in Kilcummin, as well as its character as an “urban development transplanted into a rural village setting”.
“The issue is therefore not whether the site should be developed, but whether the amount and form of development proposed are appropriate for this particular and site and village,” they said.
While Kerry TD Danny Healy-Rae didn’t make an representation on the application, he was in attendance at the public meeting in August and commended the community for the turn-out at the hall.
He said he had heard the concerns expressed and pledged to support the village in any way he could.
“You have a big crowd in the middle of the week on a holiday,” he acknowledged.
Kilcummin has been designated a ‘district town’ in the Kerry County Development Plan, along with Barraduff and Rathmore in the Killarney Municipal District.
District towns are ‘towns that serve a rural hinterland as service centres’ and are larger than villages which have ‘less of a variety of services available’.
These principles inform planning decisions on developments in these localities and make them a target for transformative development.