Permission refused for 357-home development at Colpe over SPA fears

AN Bord Pleanala has refused permission for a 357 home development at Colpe.

The board’s inspector says that the proposed subject site could impact on the nearby Boyne Estuary Special Protection Area.

They feel it would impact on the ‘integrity of Boyne Estuary SPA’ - be it ‘either individually or in combination with other plans and projects’ and were ‘precluded’ from granting permission.

They say that the ‘conservation objective is to maintain favourable conservation conditions of the non-breeding waterbird special conservation interest species listed for the designated site.’

The development site with an area of c.13.44 ha is located approx. 3 kms south-east of Drogheda town centre on the eastern side of the Dublin-Belfast railway line and immediately east of the existing Grange Rath residential development.

The lands extend east towards Mill Road, to the north a rural local road which connects Colp Road with the Marsh/Mornington Road and to west to Gaelscoil an Bhradáin Feasa. The River Boyne, SAC is located immediately north of the Mornington Road.

The proposed development also comprises road infrastructure in the form of a link road of 652m, a link road of 246m to the existing Gaelscoil on Mill Road and the realignment of a section of the Colp Road and the Mill Road. A proposed footpath with cycle path would tie in with the existing shared footpath / cyclepath to the south-west of the railway line.

A proposed new pedestrian bridge would cross the existing Dublin to Belfast railway line, linking the proposed strategic housing development to the existing Grange Rath housing development to the south-west.