On Wednesday 12 July 2017 a Site Notice appeared in Ratoath stating:
“Owr Construction Limited intends to apply for permission for development on this 0.1132 Ha site at the corner of Seagrave Hall and Fairyhouse Road, Co. Meath. … The proposed development is for: “for a three storey residential development comprising a terrace of 4 No. 4 bed dwellings”
Meath County Council received the Planning Application (RA170815) from Owr Construction Ltd, advised by Thornton O’Connor Town Planning, the previous day. An examination of the application showed that Owr want to shoehorn a large three-storey building in to a site (top-right in the photo) similar in size to the plots of neighbouring bungalows:
An initial assessment of the planning application by MCC identified many serious issues with the design of the proposed development. In August 2017, MCC asked Owr to submit a revised proposal for a two-storey building. Instead the company actually submitted a significantly enlarged version of the three-storey building which would dominate the locality and tower over an existing adjacent bungalow:
This high density, three-storey, sixteen-bedroom building is completely inappropriate for the location. Its excessive size and height, limited open spaces and inadequate car parking means that there will be a very negative impact on existing residents in the area. For example, in terms of:
- Greatly reduced privacy for neighboring properties over shadowed by the building
- The hazardous location of the narrow entrance to the small and inadequate car park
- Risks associated with on-street/on-pavement parking by residents and visitors near a busy main road
- The removal of mature trees at the boundary of the site
- A lack of drainage resulting in surface water run-off to nearby properties on lower ground
- The lack of green space resulting in the use of nearby amenities by non-residents
- The current attractive vista on the road in to Ratoath village of high-quality, low-rise, low-density development will be destroyed
- A probable reduction in the market value of nearby properties
The photos below show the current and anticipated future view from the garden of one neighbouring house if the terrace building is built:
Clearly the proposed development is not compatible with the A1 zoning of the site, which has the objective : “To protect and enhance the amenity of developed residential communities.”
However, too the astonishment of local residents, MCC granted the revised application in June 2018. When this was appealed to An Bord Pleanala in early July 2018, Owr immediately withdrew their application. During the rest of the month Owr then made a rapid submission of four new applications to MCC, ending with RA/180833.
On 18 September, MCC granted RA/180833. This seemed inevitable as any other decision would have implied the planning authority accepting that they made a serious mistake in granting RA/170815. The decision by MCC was appealed to ABP on 12 October 2018.
Please see the MCC planning website for the latest situation, and copies of scanned documents.
47 local residents have backed submissions made to MCC against this totally unsuitable development, and are supported by Councillor Nick Killian who has personally made a submission.
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