FINE Gael councillor Peter Doyle hit out at a planning application for multi-storey apartment blocks in Castletroy, claiming the density is too high and the proposal out of character with local residences.
The proposed Monaleen Road development aims for the provision of 523 residential units, along with the provision of a crèche.
A planning notice from Columbia Estates Management (IE) Limited stated the company’s intent to apply for 10-year permission for the new apartments.
The project, if greenlit, will include 214 two-to-three storey units consisting of 10 two-bed and 204 three-bed homes. It is also proposed to include 309 apartment units consisting of 159 one-bed, 141 two-bed, and nine three-bed units across 10 apartment buildings, the majority of which are five-storey in height.
Also included in the plans are a crèche and an outdoor play space along with bin and bicycle storage, as well as the provision of associated car parking at surface level.
Cllr Peter Doyle, a resident of Castletroy, reared on the Dublin Road near to the site, maintains the density is too high and the proposal is out of character with local residences. In addition, Cllr Doyle expressed his concerns over potential impact to the local golf course.
“These housing developments bring into sharp focus the need for a library and Garda station in Castletroy,” the City East representative opined.
Monaleen Road residents, in their submission to the planning authority, pointed out that they are not opposed to residential developments on the site, before raising their concerns – which relate to the scale, density, height, and intensification of the population proposed.
Residents in Castletroy consider the planning application’s “fundamental shortcomings” relating to site-specific density, building height, access and movement, road safety, sustainable mobility, climate obligations, residential amenity, and wastewater infrastructure.
Residents of Monaleen road also expressed concerns over traffic congestion, road safety, school access, construction impacts, boundary treatment, and the erosion of residential amenity.
They also stated that previous planning permissions for these lands and adjoining areas recognised the sensitivity of this interface and incorporated substantial separation distances, including buffer zones of approximately 30 metres, in order to maintain a low-density edge and provide a soft transition between residential development and the golf course.