22325
proposed development of a Retirement Village and Residential Care Home, on a site of 4.51 hectares. The proposed development comprises a 108 no. bed 2-storey residential care home of 6,279sqm, 30 no. 1 bed, single storey assisted living units, 15 no. 2 bed, single storey independent living units, a community hall 195sqm, an extended cottage building (as existing), new junction and access road off the Mullingar Road, 128 no. car parking spaces, 35 no. secure cycle parking spaces, all internal roads, footpaths, communal and private garden areas, landscaping and boundary treatments, as includes for the undergrounding of the ESB overhead line; on site wastewater pumping station, surface water attenuation area; solar photovoltaic panels at roof level to residential care home. The planning application is accompanied by a Natura Impact Statement (NIS)
Core Refusal Reason
The development is considered to be of an excessive scale and poor design quality, resulting in an over-development of the site that fails to integrate with the existing character of Kinnegad and would negatively impact the residential amenities of neighboring properties.
Decision Maker's Conclusion
- The scale, massing, and institutional design of the nursing home and assisted living units are inappropriate for the site's context and fail to provide a high-quality residential environment or sense of place.
- The proposed layout would result in significant adverse impacts on the residential amenities of adjoining low-profile dwellings by way of overlooking, visual dominance, and noise from service areas.
- The development fails to provide adequate, high-quality, and usable public and private open space, with much of the provided space being considered 'leftover' or poorly located relative to the units.