Developers move to allay concerns over planned Tulla estate

FURTHER public submissions are to be accepted on a major private housing estate proposed for Tulla, now that the developers have provided the Council with extra information. 

In response to planners concerns, Wiskin Property Developments submitted Further Information (FI) earlier this month. Planners have decided that the the nine points of information provided, as well as updated drawing and reports, constitute “Significant Further Information”.

That means that more public submissions will be accepted for a five-week period. The Council has given January 14 as the updated decision date on the estate plans. 

Plans for 60 homes on a site at Loughaun South were submitted in August of this year. After an initial assessment, and four submissions from nearby residents, planners questioned several aspects of the proposals. Residents highlighted the rapid increase in housing development in Tulla, and raised concerns over an increase in traffic, parking and road safety. 

Planners’ questions, in an FI request, centred on the impact on a nearby riverside woodland habitat, bat species in the area and aspects of the layout, parking and the boundaries of the estate. 

Responding to planners’ concerns, Wiskin have now provided a Natura Impact Statement, a screening report, an Ecological Impact Statement, and a bat survey. Revised site layout and boundary wall drawings have also been provided, as well as a landscape layout plan and details of public lighting.

Parking arrangements for some of the housing units have been revised while vehicular access to other homes has been changed. A proposed walkway to the west of the site has now been taken out of the development. “It is proposed to let this area re wild naturally as advised by the ecologist,” the developers said.

With respect to the estate boundaries, Wiskin said that existing hedgerow to the northern boundary will be retained. A new 1.8m high concrete wall will be constructed inside the existing hedgerow “to prevent trespassing onto adjoining lands”. A new hawthorn hedgerow will be set inside the wall. 

Wiskin Property Developments is seeking permission for 15 detached houses; 36 semi-detached houses and nine terraced houses on a site of just over three hectares at Loughaun South.

In the original application documents, the developers told planners their focus will be on “the creation of a high-quality, residential environment in terms of overall design and layout; a mixture of tenure types and unit sizes and the provision of high-quality landscaped public open spaces”. A letter submitted with the application outlined that the Part V element of the project has been agreed, in principle, with Clare County Council.