100 new houses for Clonard?
A MULTI-MILLION Euro development of 59 houses in Clonard which was previously refused planning permission has now been given the go-ahead by Wexford County Council subject to conditions while local authority planners are considering a second application from a different developer for 46 houses in the same area.
The proposed housing estate at Clonard Little beside Whitemill Industrial Estate opposite the entrance to Clonard Village by William Neville and Sons Construction of Rockfield House, Spawell Road, was turned down on the grounds that there were inadequate open spaces in the design and the estate entrance would endanger public safety by creating a traffic hazard.
Pre-planning discussions took place and a new application was submitted following the previous refusal with the local authority deciding to grant planning permission the second time around.
The new scheme of two-storey detached, semi-detached and terraced houses of two and three-bedrooms now features a three-storey apartment block of three one-bedroom units.
In refusing the earlier application, the Council criticised the lack of a gateway building on the site, as recommended in the Wexford Town and Environment Development Plan, with a view to creating a strong urban design and reflecting the scale of buildings on the opposite side of the road at Clonard Village.
The change in design was welcomed for the reason that a three-storey apartment block ‘would define the corner at the main junction’
In a supplementary report, a senior planner said the there was a shortfall in the garden sizes for some of the two bedroom units but the range of shortfall varied and he was satisfied there was adequate space proposed for these smaller units.
An open space to the north east of the site cannot be incorporated into garden spaces as there is an existing water main with an option for a connection to service adjoining land to the north. The house adjoining this site has been designed to overlook this year.
The development adjoins open undeveloped land which is in the ownership of Wexford County Council and a strip of land running along the west of the site, not in the developer’s ownership, has been reserved for the provision of the Wexford Inner Relief Route.
The entrances to the estates will be positioned back from a proposed roundabout of the Whitemill Industrial Estate Road and the inner relife road. There is only one entrance proposed onto the existing road which is a normal urban road.
Planners said the original proposal was considered substandard in design and layout.
Meanwhile H & R Chartered Homes of Clonard House, Clonard Great has applied to Wexford County Council for planning permission to build 46 houses on a 2.7 hectare site at Clonard Great and Killeens.
The proposed scheme will consist of mostly detached 40 four-bedroom houses and six three-bed homes.
Darragh Ryan, a chartered engineer and director of the company said the development has been designed for a specific end of the market with four-bed detached houses taking priority in the plans.
It is understood that pre-planning discussions took place last April and were generally positive towards the development.
A watercourse running through an amenity space near the western boundary of the site is to be culverte for safety reasons.
The owner of the land John Hayes, Senior confirmed that he has given consent to H&R Chartered Homes to apply for planning permission in respect of the site.