Kilgarron Hill plans refused
AN Bord Pleanala has refused planning permission for 219 residential units Kilgarron Hill in Enniskerry.
The board has written to those who made submissions to inform them of the decision. According the board’s report, they were not satisfied that the development would not adversely affect the integrity of the Knocksink Wood Special Area of Conservation. Residents of the area had objected to the plans, on a number of grounds.
Knocksink was listed as an SAC because of the presence of three natural habitat types: petrifying springs; alluvial forests and old sessile oak woodlands. ‘ The special conservation status of Knocksink under the EU Habitats directive, which has been implemented into Irish law,means that planning permission should not be granted to any development which could adversely affect the SAC.
Their concerns included the altering of groundwater systems feeding the petrifying streams, increased human activities at Knocksink, potential fly-tipping of garden waste from housing, the natural heritage character of Enniskerry, and set a precedent for the granting of further large scale developments.
These plans by Capami Lim
ited consisted of 135 houses, 84 apartments and a childcare facility. Deputy John Brady, who had made a submission, said that the refusal is ‘welcome news’.
A similar application made in 2018 was also refused. Members of Bray Municipal District expressed concern about the strategic housing development at a meeting which took place in June. ‘If proposals came in for about 80 homes, I would have been happy,’ said Cathaoirleach Anne Ferris on that occasion. ‘Enniskerry is a village, not a town,’ she said. ‘While I wish more houses could be built in general, so that people of my daughter’s generation could buy, I can’t support that development.’