Galway City Council has raised “serious concerns” over a proposed multi-million euro residential and commercial development off the Western Distributor Road.
They have ordered an extensive redesign of the plans which were lodged in February.
The local authority has written to Dublin-based investment fund Ardstone Capital with a series of issues they have with the plans for the 6.5-acre site off the Ballymoneen Road.
Their concerns range from an unacceptable design for large parts of the development; whether the developers have sufficient legal interest for an entrance from the adjoining Leargán estate; the proximity of the commercial units to the road; the scale and design of the commercial units; the design of apartments
In February, the company sought permission to develop the site – previously earmarked for a controversial Lidl supermarket which was rejected by An Bord Pleanála – which it purchased for €3 million.
It planned to have vehicular access from the Ballymoneen Road and via the Leargán development on the Distributor Road, as well as pedestrian access from the Distributor Road.
The application involves the construction of 91 new homes, four ground floor commercial units and a corner block of commercial units over three floors and a creche.
Among the objectors to the application is Leargán Management Company, which has concerns about the proposed access through their estate, and whether the applicant has the legal right to use that access point.
Concerns were also voiced about the new road layout creating a rat run from the Western Distributor Road to the Ballymoneen Road.
Planners have asked the applicant to prove it has sufficient legal interest to access the road via Leargán, and have sought clarification on the intentions for a strip of land to the west of the site beside Leargán.
The Council has expressed concerns that the four retail units and three-level commercial building would be too close to the footpath and roadway and that their scale and design is not integrated into the overall proposal.
The applicant has been told to completely redesign this element of the plans and also asked what the three-level building will be used for.
“The planning authority has serious reservations with regards to the overall design of the apartment/duplex units,” planners said, specifically asking that private open space and garden areas be redesigned to “provide space which is functional, useable and capable of receiving adequate sunlight”.
“The northern elevations and in particular the south-southern elevation are considered unsatisfactory, and present a linear, monolithic, unrelenting façade which detracts from the amenities of the area,” planners said.
They added that the 1.8-metre high boundary wall is unacceptable and needs to be revised.
Proposed gravel surfaces for on-site parking has been branded “substandard” and the applicants have been ordered to look at tarmac or cobble block.
They have also been ordered to redesign gables of buildings, that timber fencing is not acceptable, and that there is unnecessary use of retaining walls and railings.
Planners said that communal open space is substandard as it appears to be shared surface areas consisting mainly of access roads and parking spaces.
The design of a number of the properties do not meet City Development Plan guidelines, and it was also noted that there should be between 147 and 156 parking spaces, but only 80 were proposed.
Ardstone Capital has six months to respond to the demand for revised proposals and further information, or the application will be deemed to be withdrawn.
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