2560166
Permission for the development which will comprise as follows:(a)The provision of apartment block A which comprises 8no. 2bed apartments, 2no. 1bed apartments along with an associated storage room. Apartment block A ranges in height from part three storey to part four storey.(b)The provision of apartment block B which comprises 8no. 2bed apartments, 2no. 1bed apartments along with associated storage room. Apartment block B ranges in height from part three storey to part four storey and is split level.(c)The provision of 2no. associated buildings for storage of bins and bicycles along with a bicycle storage shelter.(d)The provision of associated communal and public open space which include for provision of a play park, a basketball court and associated site landscape treatments.(e)The decommissioning of the existing wastewater pump station and installation of a new wastewater pump station which will include for provision of a wastewater storage tank that will be pumped to connect into the wastewater mains network.(f) Provision of associated drainage and attenuation infrastructure works.(g) All ancillary site development/construction works to facilitate foul, water and service networks for connection to the existing foul, water, gas and ESB networks. A Natura Impact Statement (NIS) has been prepared and will be submitted to the Planning Authority with the application.
Core Refusal Reason
The proposal was refused due to significant technical deficiencies in the Natura Impact Statement, inadequate demonstration of wastewater infrastructure capacity, and a substandard design that failed to provide acceptable residential amenity or address site-specific constraints.
Decision Maker's Conclusion
- The application failed to provide a scientifically robust Natura Impact Statement, leaving reasonable doubt regarding potential adverse effects on the integrity of nearby European Sites, specifically the River Boyne and River Blackwater SAC/SPA.
- The applicant failed to demonstrate that adequate wastewater infrastructure and capacity exist to serve the intensification of the site, and did not provide sufficient information regarding flood risk, surface water management, or safe traffic access.
- The proposed development represents a substandard form of residential design, providing poor-quality communal and private amenity spaces that are constrained by topography and fail to enhance the character of the existing residential scheme.