CLOONLOUGH NURSING HOME DENIED PERMISSION
An Bord Pleanála have upheld a decision to refuse planning permission for a large nursing home that was planned for the outskirts of Mitchelstown, in the townland of Cloonlough.
The bord made their decision to refuse permission last Friday and based it on the fact that the land proposed to be developed is in a greenbelt.
However, the bord did not agree that the proposed nursing home development would injure the landscape value of the area, or that it should be denied because of the wastewater treatment plant problems being experienced in the town, matters cited by Cork County Council in their refusal of the application.
The proposed nursing home was to cater for 105 residents and would include accommodation for staff in the form of eight two-bedroom apartments. It was to be sited on the outskirts of the town by the Cork roundabout.
GREENBELT
Cork County Council had refused permission in November 2022 on three grounds, the first being that the land is a designated greenbelt area. To this, the applicant Charleville Home Care Ltd protested, saying that the change in zoning from ‘residential’ to ‘greenbelt’ happened during the application process and if a decision had been made earlier then it would have avoided this.
While acknowledging the ‘age friendly’ status of Mitchelstown and the apparent sense that putting a nursing home on the edge of the town makes, An Bord Pleanála (ABP) still countered that the site is ‘physically disconnected’ from the town itself and that consideration for housing for the elderly should be given to undeveloped zoned land within the boundary of the town.
The bord also observed that Cork County Council’s development plan dictates that greenbelt developments should be ‘of parks, countryside walks or other recreational uses’ to prevent urban sprawl and a nursing home of this size contravenes this.
HIGH VALUE LANDSCAPE
The second refusal by Cork County Council, which was not accepted by An Bord Pleanála, was on the grounds that the field in Cloonlough is of high value in terms of visual amenity. The old road to Fermoy was also described as a scenic route, with supposed historic structures like Kilworth Camp, Moorepark and the ‘Glochamucka Public House’ (presumably here, the county council and the inspector were referring to the landmark Glocca Maura Inn!).
An Bord Pleanála did not accept that this was a valid reason to refuse permission however.
The bord did not uphold the third reason for refusal given by the council either, which was that the town’s problematic wastewater treatment system could not be relied upon to treat the water from the planned nursing home. Charleville Home Care Ltd. had planned to only transport treated effluent to the Mitchelstown Wastewater Treatment Plant, and ABP agreed that it seemed that the wastewater generated would be of a minor load. They did however state that a significant redesign of the development would be needed if it went ahead.