Council approves 35-home Tipperary development despite local concerns
Planning permission has been granted for more than 30 new homes in Tipperary.
Bluemont Developments (Clonmel) Ltd applied to Tipperary County Council for permission to build 35 homes on a site near the Crann Ard and Glencarra Estates on the Fethard Road in Clonmel.
Under the plans, there would be 35 new homes built, with 33 three-bedroom terraced houses, and two three-bedroom bungalows.
According to documents submitted in support of the plans, all of the units in the development will be built with universal design in mind, meaning they will be suitable for people of all ages and abilities.
Under Part V rules, seven of the units would be transferred to Tipperary County Council.
Part V rules mean that developers must allocate 20pc of houses in a development to a local authority to be used as social and affordable homes for those on the council’s housing list.
A number of submissions were made to the proposed development, including from local councillor Niall Dennehy.
In his submission, Cllr Dennehy said that as a long-term resident of the area, he had a number of suggestions as to how the development would better work.
“The applicant proposes to use the existing green area at the car park adjacent to the crèche in Crann Ard as the public open space area for the proposed development.
“The proposed play area location is between a sewage pump house and an ESB substation. Bringing children to play in this area seems like a bad idea,” the submission said.
The crèche is the only building that can provide passive surveillance, the submission added, and said that currently, when the facility is closed, anti-social behaviour can be seen in the car park.
The letter called for one of the houses which would front onto the open area be changed into a dual aspect house, with the front door facing the green space in an attempt to deal with issues of anti-social behaviour.
Cllr Dennehy’s submission also raised concerns about the boundary treatments proposed with the new estate, the planned pedestrian link between the development and the laneway to the north of the estate.
“While we are generally supportive of the development, we have a number of concerns and suggestions that will reduce the existing anti-social behaviour that currently happens in the area,” he said.
Another submission from Deirdre O’Shea and Michael Kiely said that they had suffered issues with sewage backing up through their pipes and flooding their back gardens due to the original pumping station not having been adequately maintained.
They asked that no planning permission for a new development be granted until issues with the sewage system were investigated and rectified.
Despite all this, planners from Tipperary County Council decided to grant planning permission for the development, subject to 20 conditions.
Included among the conditions are that the developer pays the county council a financial contribution of €85,492 for the connections to public infrastructure and facilities.
Planners also stipulated that the developer lodge a bond of €297,500 with the council as insurance in case issues arise and the local authority has to finish the works.