Council lo rs caution at new 217 home scheme
LOCAL councillors have given a cautious welcome to plans for a 217 home development at Newtownstalaban but acknowledged the ‘elephant in the room’ was the Port Access Route and the infrastructure needed to support the plan.
A Strategic Housing Development application has been lodged with An Bord Pleanala for the new scheme, which consists of 80 duplex apartments - a mix of one, two and three bedroom units - and 137 houses including two, three and four bedroom homes.
The plan also includes a two story block containing a creche and a residents gym, a coffee bar and a communal room.
There will also be landscaped private and public open spaces including a trim trail, children’s playground/play area, basketball throwing court and a playing kickabout field.
Provision has been made for 364 car parking spaces and 220 bicycle space provided throughout the site and two motorcycle spaces.
A council outlined the plans for the new development to councillors at the December meeting of Drogheda Municipal District and said while the final decision in the SHD fast track process ultimately lies with An Bord Pleanala ABP, the opinions and views of the council and council representatives would be taken on board and fed to ABP via the managers report.
Speaking following the presentation, Mayor of Drogheda Paul Bell said that while additional housing capacity in Drogheda would be very much welcomed, the ‘elephant in the room’ is the issue Drogheda currently has with road infrastructure.
‘We believe the Port Access Route is not getting enough attention, it is a key piece of infrastructure that is badly needed,’ he said.
‘I am anxious to see the application for the route progress and I’m not sure why it’s not progressing. There seems to be a bit of ambiguity about getting funding for it. There is deep concern and deep disquiet among the citizens of our town. This project wouldn’t be a big issue except it does seem to be ignoring the major issue of road infrastructure.’
Agreeing, Councillor Michelle Hall said the design for the new scheme was of good quality and would provide a good quality of life for the residents but said she also had concerns about a plan of this size going ahead before the Port Access Route had funding.
She suggested a name change for the estate to Baile Nua. ‘I have friends whose address is Newtownstalaban, it is a townland and you cannot give and estate the same name,’ she said. The councillor also raised concerns about the number of long, straight stretches of road in the plan and said she feared this would lead to a problem with speeding.
Councillor Joanna Byrne said that while she was in favour of new housing, particularly social housing the infrastructure for a project of this size simply wasn’t there. ‘I think the timing for your presentation is unfortunate because had the funding for the Port Access Route not been refused last week we might have been singing from a different hymn sheet.’