Village homes proposal deemed too ‘suburban’ by planners

DESIGNS for three new homes in the village of O’Callaghan’s Mills have been described by planners as “highly suburban” and “not acceptable for a village setting”. 

Council planners made their comments in a letter to developers, East Clare Construction Ltd, seeking Further Information (FI) on proposals submitted in recent months, for a site at Iragh. The Council said the while the principle of the proposed development is acceptable, the designs themselves are not.

The company has now been told to submit revised designs “reflecting the rural character of the setting”. Variation in each site has to be provided and, for one of the houses, which would front onto both the existing regional road in the area, and a new access road, “dual frontage” must be created. 

Planners have also noted that the new access road for two of the proposed homes “provides access to further zoned lands in the applicant’s ownership”. For that reason, East Clare Construction Ltd has been asked to “outline further development intentions for the remainder of the landholding”. 

In addition, planners have asked for more details on the “steep drop in ground levels” where the proposed new access road to two of the homes connects to the existing R466. Planners said the finished floor level of the other home appeared to be around 3 metres higher than the adjoining public road.

For that reason, the developer has been asked to provide a north/south cross section at three points through the site. These must show the current and proposed ground levels. and “proposed driveway/access road gradients”. Drawings have also been requested to show the proposed development relative to existing buildings to the east and west. 

Proposals for three four-bedroom homes were lodged in August by East Clare Construction Ltd, whose directors are listed as Joe and Teresa Cooney of Ballymacdonnell, Bodyke. Plans show the proposed homes are detached, two-storey units, each with a garage. The floor space of each home is 167.5m squared. They are proposed for a site of just over half a hectare at Iragh, inside the village, owned by the company since 2015. 

A certificate showing that the proposed development has been granted an exemption from Part V of the Planning and Development Act has been submitted as part of the application. 

The development would be connected to the public water supply, and waste water management systems would have to 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 states 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.

The applicants have stated on their planning application form that the homes would be built to sell on. No submissions on the proposed development were made by members of the public. East Clare Construction Ltd now has six months to respond to planner’s FI request.