Go ahead given for 200 new Oranmore homes

An Bord Pleanála has given the go ahead for the construction of more than 200 new homes in Oranmore, after ruling that previous concerns about the presence of a protected species of goose have been overcome.

Arlum Ltd, which is controlled by developer Padraic Rhatigan of JJ Rhatigan, applied for permission last April to build the 212 houses and apartments on the 21.5-acre site at Moneyduff and Oranhill, just 500 metres from the town.

The €50 million project is being progressed under Strategic Housing Development legislation, which permits applications for more than 100 homes to be made directly to An Bord Pleanála (following initial consultations with the local authority) in an effort to expedite major housing projects.

A similar application was rejected by the Board last October on environmental grounds – that a nearby site was possibly used by the protected Greenland White-fronted Goose and ruled the development would contravene the conservation and preservation of European designated environmental sites and species of interest.

The latest application included monthly bird surveys from October to March, and there were no records of such species either on the site or surrounding areas.

“The purpose of the monthly winter bird surveys to demonstrate beyond reasonable scientific doubt, that the site of the proposed development and areas immediately surrounding it do not provide suitable habitat and are not used by Greenland white-fronted goose.

“The surveys also demonstrate that the site and surrounding fen is not significantly used by any of the bird species that are among the qualifying interests of the Inner Galway Bay SPA (Special Protection Area) either and that no adverse effects on any of these designated sites are predicted,” the second application read.

It added that an updated Natura Impact Statement included as part of the application and concluded “that the proposed development, individually or in combination with other plans or projects, will not adversely affect the integrity of any European [designated] Site”.

The proposal includes 74 four-bed homes, 70 three-beds, 12 two-beds and 56 two-bed own-door duplex units, as well as a one-storey childcare facility and a total of 409 car parking spaces.

There will be dedicated walkways through parkland areas, a children’s playground and landscaping around the preserved site of Moneyduff Castle.

The development also involves the construction of a north/south link between Coill Clocha and Orancourt/Oranhill via the Oranmore Distributor Road.

A number of submissions on the plans were made by members of the public, who raised concerns about traffic safety and congestion; suburban sprawl; impact on ecological sustainability and Rinville Park and pressure on existing schools and other infrastructure in the area.

A report was forwarded to the Board by the County Council which included minutes from a meeting of the Athenry/Oranmore Municipal District Council which expressed general support for the project, but also raised concerns about traffic; the absence of a playground; the quantum of housing proposed and the need for affordable housing.

In her recommendation that the Board approve the application, with a 7-year life span attached, Planning Inspector Lorraine Dockery said: “The previous reasons for refusal on this site have been overcome. I consider that the proposal is such that this would be an attractive place in which to reside.

“I do not have issue in relation to transport and consider that the provision of the road network [under a previous planning permission and proposed to be delivered under this application] would aid in opening up these lands and creating improved connections for the wider community,” she said.

The developers will be transferring 12 two-bed apartments, 3 two-bed terraced houses and 6 three-bed terraced or semi-detached houses to the Council to meeting its social housing requirements.