Four objectors to proposed Kinvara development

GALWAY County Council received four submissions against a 16-house development in Kinvara before the deadline passed last week.

Galway Grey Limited with a registered address at Odeon House, Eyre Square, applied for planning permission for the construction of six two-storey semi-detached homes and 10 two-storey detached houses at a site owned by the company in the seaside village.
In an objection to the project, Michael O’Sullivan with an address in Green Lane, Kinvara, stated that the blank gable walls of some of the houses “are visually obtrusive” from his home.
His objection also stated that Green Lane would become “a major traffic hazard with the increased volume of traffic.” It added that it was only wide enough for one car in places at the moment and that “flooding occurs in the hollow inside the gate with the site notice on it. This hollow is part of a series of small turloughs in the area.”
Also objecting to the proposed development were Green Lane residents, Rita and Ted McConn-Stern, through Vincent JP Farry and Co Ltd.
The objection centred on a number of issues including the ridge heights of the buildings. The objection stated: “There is no doubt that the proposed estate will tower over the adjoining bungalows and would be visually intrusive on views and prospects to and from this scenic coastal village.”
It added that there was a need for the development to be set back at the Eastern boundary and claimed: “The proposed development involves a poor and disorderly site layout which involves several gables and rear elevations facing Green Lane.”
This objection also described the proposed architecture as “banal and we submit that the design would detract from the amenities of this settlement.”
It added: “There is an oversupply of zoned residential land in Kinvara and we note the number of schemes which are currently proposed or which are at construction stage, the cumulative effect of which would injure the character and social structure of the village”.
The McConn-Sterns also objected on the grounds of inadequate sewage treatment facilities.
The local authority also received an objection from John Madden with an address in Castleview Park in Kinvara. It stated that the proposal was in “contravention of the development plan in that the visual impact on Kinvara approaching the village from Dunguarire Castle would be seriously affected”.
Mr Madden’s objection added that the development would “have a severe adverse effect on the visual amenity as it would constitute a visually obtrusive position on the largely unspoiled prospect of this long-established coastal village as it would be directly behind Castleview Park, which are bungalows and the proposed development is on a hill site higher than Castleview Park and therefore would be an ugly eyesore”.
It said the proposed housing “is not in keeping with the proper planning and development of such a scenic area, particularly as there is no housing shortage in Kinvara”.
Mr Madden claimed the road network serving the proposed development is “totally inadequate.” He stated that the Green Road is “entirely unsuitable for a development of this magnitude as it is a country lane rather than a road” and that the volume of traffic, which would be created by the proposed development would “seriously endanger pedestrians who use the roadway”.
A submission by other Castleview Park residents, Pat and Monica McMahon, stated that the rear of some of the proposed houses would overlook the rear of their property, adding “we will not have any privacy whatsoever and accordingly, our property will be much devalued. We would also be concerned with regard to our security when the open space between this proposed development and our property is considered.”
This submission also cited the lack of a sewage treatment plant in the village, the single-lane Green Lane Road and a lack of housing need as issues when it came to this development.
“We consider that the proposed development would not be in the interests of the proper planning and development of Kinvara and accordingly request that permission be refused,” the McMahon’s submission concluded.
Galway County Council will make a decision on this application later this month.