Planners give green light for new homes in Clare village

GROWTH is on the cards for the village of O’Callaghan’s Mills now that planning permission has been granted for a development of three homes at Iragh. 

Clare County Council gave the green light for the development, on a site of just over half an acre, subject to 20 conditions. After assessing the plans and seeking Further Information (FI) on certain aspects, the local authority found the plans to be acceptable, given the zoning of the land, which is earmarked for “low density residential and mixed use”. 

Among the 20 conditions attached to planning permission is the requirement that the homes may only be sold to individual purchasers and not a corporate entity. This is in order “to ensure an adequate choice and supply of housing, including affordable housing, in the common good”.

Before construction begins, East Clare Construction must submit a lighting plan for the site. It must also revise plans so that pedestrian circulation is possible around each of the proposed detached garages. A roadside grass margin beside one of the homes must also be retained.

Open space at the development must be kept for public use and kept free of development. In the interests of visual amenity, finishes to roofs and external walls have been specified by the Council. A name for the development must be agreed with the local authority “based on local historical or topographical features or other alternatives acceptable to the planning authority”. A number of other standard conditions have been applied, including a financial bond and a development contribution. 

The plans were originally submitted last August by East Clare Construction whose directors are Joe and Teresa Cooney of Ballymacdonnell, Bodyke. In October, planners requested FI on a number of issues, including the original design of the homes, deeming them to be “highly suburban” and “not acceptable for a village setting”.

The Council sought revised designs “reflecting the rural character of the setting”. Planners also asked that variation in each site be provided. For one of the houses, which would front onto both the existing regional road in the area, and a new access road, “dual frontage” was sought.

In response, the developer made revisions to the design of the homes and the Council agred that the three individual house designs were “better suited to the village location”.

In the FI response the company also clarified that, “any further development will be subject to planning and discussion and will be dependant on the future zoning of the lands to the rear”. It added that it would be “fair to say that the applicant would be open to consideration to develop a further small number of houses subject to planning”.

It said that no large scale development is envisaged and that even a small scale development of three or four houses would be subject to an economic assessment “to confirm if sufficient demand exists to make any such development viable”. 

A certificate showing that the development has been granted an exemption from Part V of the Planning and Development Act was submitted as part of the original application. The applicants stated on their planning application form that the homes would be built to sell on.

The development will be connected to the public water supply, and three waste water management systems will be installed. A Site Suitability Report for one of the proposed homes, was prepared for the Waste Water Treatment System, in accordance with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) codes in July.

The report stated that based on visual inspection and percolation testing, with the correct wastewater treatment infrastructure, the site will be able to percolate, attenuate and dispose of the wastewater generated by the housing. Existing mature hedgerows, as well as a number of clusters of native broadleaf trees are to be retained at the development. 

There were no representations or submission on the application.