LIMERICK City and County Council’s Planning Department has been asked to explain why it didn’t stipulate noise mitigation measures for planning permissions granted to housing developments in earshot of the M7 motorway.
Speaking at last week’s Metropolitan District meeting, Cllr Elena Secas said that some estates in the Castletroy area, such as Evanwood and Kylemore, are affected by motorway noise. She asked if noise reducing fencing could be put up until Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) undertake a Pilot Acoustic Mitigation Project.
She was told by the Council’s Director of Services for Planning, Nuala Gallagher that noise assessments were not undertaken for some of the earlier housing estates in the Castletroy/ Monaleen area adjacent to the M7 and that predicted road noise levels in private outdoor amenity areas were underestimated by the developer’s engineers.
“At the time that planning applications were reviewed for those housing estates, the negative impact on health by environmental noise was not well understood and relevant conditions were not attached to permissions granted.”
Ms Gallagher went on to say that the Council has worked in cooperation with TII in assessing the impact of road noise on residents living close to the M7 motorway and is waiting to establish whether a pilot study will commence.
“As the developments were built in accordance with the permissions granted, it is therefore not possible to use bonds for additional works,” she concluded.
