20 new homes approved for Tipperary despite flooding concerns
Planning permission has been granted for 20 new homes in Tipperary.
Bernard and Ursula Brennan applied to the local authority for permission to build 20 houses in Ballyclerihan, outside Clonmel.
The development will include eight four-bedroom homes, 10 three-bedroom homes, and two two-bedroom homes, with four to be allocated to Tipperary County Council for social and affordable housing. At total of 48 car parking spaces will also be delivered.
Nearby residents raised concerns about potential flooding in the area, and how surface water would be dealt with to avoid making the issue of flooding worse.
Ciaran and Noranne Mangan lodged a submission saying that, while they were in favour of housing in the village, they remained concerned about how surface water from the new estate would be dealt with.
"We note that the council engineer has acknowledged that there is a surface water issue in her submission ... adding that ‘local knowledge may not be reflected in CFRAM/OPW mapping’,” they said.
Another neighbouring property owner, Seighin O Diomasaigh, also raised concerns about potential flooding in the area.
"I need to express concern in relation to the ongoing flood risk of gardens adjacent to this site. The area already suffers from a persistently high water table, and during periods of rainfall a large pool of standing water forms along my boundary with the proposed site,” he said.
"With the development of 20 houses on the site, the risk of flooding will increase. I believe that any devlopment on this land must take into account the high water table, the risk of flooding to the properties to the immediate southern boundary of the site and should include plans to proactively mitigate this risk with drainage in this area,” the submission added.
Despite these concerns, the council’s planning staff said they were “satisfied that subject to appropriate conditions, surface water and flood risk concerns can be managed to avoid impacts on third party properties”.
Planning permission for the development was granted, subject to 22 conditions.
Among the conditions are that at least two of the visitor car parking spaces be equipped with electric vehicle chargers, that final details of the arrangements to deal with surface water be submitted to the council for agreement, and that the developers pay the council €49,195 for connections to public infrastructure and the facilities provided in the area.