Fassaroe plans rejected

AN BORD PLEANALA has refused permission for a major development at Fassaroe.

Wicklow County Council granted permission for the development earlier this year.

Cosgrave Property Group sought to build a mixed use development at Fassaroe and Monastery, comprising of 390 apartments, 269 houses, a neighbourhood centre, creche, district park, parking and new road. This was to be the first phase in a development of around 1,800 units.

Fifty acres within the site is proposed to be zoned separately as active open space.

An inspector from An Bord Pleanala looked at the site on September 17. He said that the basic form, layout and design of the development were generally acceptable but there were a number of issues that couldn’t be addressed by conditions.

Specifically, the potential impact on the carrying capacity and strategic function of the N11/M11 and the requirement that parts of the site would be the subject of authorisation from the Environmental Protection Agency, the outcome of which is not clear.

This involved three historic landfills on the site.

‘The Board cannot clearly determine that the proposed development would not have an adverse effect on the integrity of the Ballyman Gen SAC… to allow development to proceed would therefore be premature, could lead to works that would seriously injure the amenities of future residents of the development,’ read the inspector’s report.

It’s believed the plans would have a negative impact on Bray town, and it was also found that residents would not have access to important amenities, such as social and education facilities.

The inspector said that he had significant concerns with regard to the extent of retail floorspace proposed.

The inspector said that the extent of office accommodation proposed and its relationship to and impact on the national road network would also be of concern.

The refusal was also due to the absence of a high capacity public transport mode serving the site, or plans for the provision of such a service, and the car-based nature of the development.

The report indicated that the development would generate a large volume of traffic, much of that likely to use the N11/ M11 route.