Residents say councillors were ‘grossly misinformed’ on Kanturk housing plan

THE proposal to build 16 social houses on a site at Upper Bluepool in Kanturk may have hit a major stumbling block following a claim by the local residents association that the council has miscalculated the size of the site.

At this month’s meeting of the Kanturk/ Mallow Municipal District Committee, councillors voted to adopt the proposal despite many expressing serious concerns about the density of the proposed development. The proposal is now set to come before the next full meeting of the council for final approval.

However, the Upper Bluepool Residents Association has written to councillors claiming that an independent survey has established that the council made an error in calculating the area of the site.

In their letter the association wrote that they had been led to believe the site had an area of 0.9 hectares, meaning that a density application of 18 units (as per the Cork County Development Plan) would mean 16 houses on a 0.9 hectare site.

“However, we have established by means of an independent survey, that the site in question does not measure anywhere near 0.9 hectares. But, in fact, only has an area of 0.357 hectares or 0.882 acres,” read the letter.

The association said that “in light of this error” the planner’s report does not apply, as matters relating to density were “misinformed” and that under County Development Plan guidelines the absolute maximum number of units permitted on a site of this size would be just eight.

They claimed that Cork County Council’s report on the development and the accompanying consultant’s reports had “grossly misrepresented the facts in relation to this development.”

“The proposed development, in its current form, is not applicable to this site due to the density exceeding very clear guidelines set out in both the County Development Plan (2014) and the Kanturk/ Mallow Municipal District Plan (2017),” read the letter.

The association said that on this basis it was clear that councillors had been “grossly misinformed” and that as a result the vote taken (at the municipal district committee meeting) “must be considered null and void”.

“Given these facts, it is clear that our local councillors must now act to protect the interests of local constituents, including current and future residents of Upper Bluepool, Kanturk,” read the letter.

“We, the Bluepool Residents Association, request that all topographical surveys in relation to this site be furnished by Cork County Council, in particular those which may be considered to contest what we have found.”

Cllr John Paul O’Shea (Ind) who, along with Cllr Gerard Murphy (FG), voted against the adoption of the proposal at the municipal meeting said he was concerned at the latest development.

“As I said at the meeting I had serious reservations about the density of this development. While I understand there is a very real need for new social houses in Kanturk, any proposal has to be right for the area,” he said.

“In light of the claims by the residents association, I believe this whole issue now needs to be revisited by council officials,” he said.

The Corkman was unable to reach a Council spokesman for comment on the issue at the time of going to press.