An Bord Pleanála ignores inspector’s recommendation on student housing

From this week’s Galway City Tribune – An Bord Pleanála has ignored the recommendation of its own planning inspector and given the green light for an extension to the Cúirt na Coiribe student accommodation complex on the Headford Road – which will see the number of bed spaces more than double to 920.

Karen Kelly, Senior Planning Inspector with the Board, said the development should be rejected because of its scale and the negative impact it would have on the urban character of the area.

She added that she was not satisfied that the private wastewater and water supply networks serving the site could cater for the proposed development.

However, she was overruled by Deputy Chairperson of the Board, Paul Hyde, said the development would provide “an appropriate design solution” and that the Board was happy that the water infrastructure had adequate capacity.

Exeter Property Group, one of the biggest property investment groups in the world, applied to An Bord Pleanála last June for permission to demolish a two-storey building to the front of the development and to remove the existing fifth floor attic level from the next block.

The proposal involves extending upwards and outwards to create a total of 920 bed spaces in 868 bedrooms in a single building with nine linked blocks ranging from two to six storeys.
This is a shortened preview version of this article. To read the rest of the story, see this week’s Galway City Tribune. You can buy a digital edition HERE.