Kerry politician granted planning for major development in home village

By Alastair Tibbs, The Kerryman

A Kerry councillor has been granted planning permission for a major housing development in his home village after a previous failed bid.

Old Road Limited Partnership, which lists Rathmore-based councillor Niall Kelleher as one of the partners, has been given the green light from Kerry County Council for a 57-home development.

Cllr Kelleher is one of three general partners at Old Road Limited Partnership and has declared he owns a one-eighth share in the entity.

Killarney-based Lackabane Developments Limited and two individuals from the retirement management company, Wealth Options Limited, are registered as limited partners.

Rathmore has been designated a ‘district town’ in the Kerry County Development Plan, along with Barraduff and Rathmore in the Killarney Municipal District, paving the way, from a planning perspective, for significant development.

This development will involve the demolition of two dwelling houses to make way for 57 residential units with a mix of typologies.

The roughly 2.6-hectare site will include 26 three-bed two-storey dwellings, 10 one-bed apartments and seven two-bed single-storey units.

118 car parking spaces will be provided along with six units for social housing under the Part V provision for housing development.

As part of planning conditions, the developer is to contribute €85,500 towards transport infrastructure and community/amenity development.

A further €51,000 will go towards the provision of pedestrian infrastructure improving the link between Rathmore Railway station and the rest of the village.

There were only five submissions received as part of the application, with a few raising various concerns about the lack of medical facilities in the village and whether there were enough spaces in nearby creches.

Environmental assessments found that while there would be no direct effects on protected sites, there was potential conduits to the Blackwater River in the vicinity.

However, the report stated that it was likely significant effects on the river could be ruled out.

Two areas of archaeological interest were found on the site, with Kerry County Council’s archaeologist recommending that both sites be excavated.

Stated as to be fulacht fiadh, planning conditions require that a 20m buffer zone be applied round each of the sites.

The granting of permission was subject to a total of 37 conditions, including the lodging of a security of €961,500.

The site is required to be landscaped with only native Irish plant species and all external public lighting provided shall be LED in type, with a ‘warm’ white light source, to protect biodiversity.

Old Road Limited Partnership was registered in 2022 following a previous failed bid by ‘Old Road Partnership’ – a different entity associated with Cllr Kelleher – to secure approval for the development of 60 houses on the same site in 2021.

The council had granted permission for the development but following an appeal, the planning regulator found the council’s plans only allowed 28 units to be built in the village.

However, the new County Development Plan 2022-2028 sets a housing target in Rathmore of exactly 57 houses, paving the way for the new application.