St Waleran’s is ‘Gorey’s future urban quarter’
COUNCILLORS at the December meeting of Gorey Kilmuckridge Municipal District heard a presentation on the St Waleran’s site, purchased by Wexford County Council earlier this year, with the Ballytegan location being described as ‘Gorey’s future urban quarter’.
The site was broken down in to seven fields, and councillors were shown aerial photographs as well as a map of the zoned areas to determine the size and scale of the site.
Zoned uses for the site included community spaces, residential, tourism, strategic reserve, eco-development, such as mature trees that will be maintained.
Regarding the protected structure on site that has been damaged by fire, councillors were told that the early next year the Council will look to have that protection removed as the house cannot be saved.
In a discussion about the vision for the site, councillors were told that their input to the master plan for the site would be asked for.
The presentation also highlighted the value of resources that are already present on site, such as views of the sea and Tara Hill.
Wexford County Council are hopeful that the development will meet the needs of the town, not just in housing, but to become a development of a sustainable neighbourhood.
They spoke about forcing the design to bring people together using the healthy city concept to encourage interaction.
As the Council have ownership of the site, they described being under less pressure than if the site was owned by a developer, as they are more in charge.
Councillors were told that the master plan requires a significant amount of work, including studies and consultation, but that getting it right in the first instance will help down the road.
They heard that it probably won’t be until the first few months of 2021 before a master plan is ready in the first phase, and that permissions and funding applications take time.
Cllr Breen asked how many houses would be envisaged on site, and was told the Council can push on with 400 units as they spoke.
The spokesperson said that the site has been identified as being able to provide capacity for future growth and therefore should be looked at in terms of the long term development of Gorey town.
Cllr Donohoe suggested pressing on from here, and that zoning could be changed to fit the needs of the site within a new town plan.
‘I don’t see why we should have to wait on the full master plan to be complete when there are ten acres of zoned land for housing on the Ballytegan road,’ he said.
He said that county councils around the country would give their arm for the site.
Cllr Mary Farrell agreed that Gorey and elsewhere are crying out for housing, and it was important to find a solution as a Council to this.
‘It’s such a fantastic opportunity for the town but it’s the thought of having to wait. I don’t understand why we can’t start it next year’.
Councillors were told that if there was a solution to this, they would find it but they had to be realistic about how long this takes but they will make the effort to get this done quickly.
Cllr Devereux highlighted the spend that needed to be made in relation to road access and asked whether the N11 would need to be developed on, and he was told that this could happen in the longer term aspect of the plan.
Cllr Breen said that it was more important to get this right than to get it done at speed, and was told that apartments would be looked at down the line for the site.
Cllr Farrell said that as part of the plan, the community aspect really had to be looked at.
‘It needs to be a neighbourhood where people want to live and will be able to live, rather than just a big estate that will become a ghetto without the right and proper thinking’.
Cllr Donohoe suggested that the site should facilitate a third secondary school, another national school and municipal pitches for all to access.