Housing plan for Mayo coal bunker site goes up in smoke
The former coal bunker site.
A plan to redevelop a coal bunker site for housing has been rejected for a second time.
Mayo County Council has refused the application which sought to turn a former coal bunker site in Castlebar into apartments.
Developer Harold Conway sought to construct 12 apartments on the site adjacent to the junction of the Pontoon and Turlough roads.
The proposal was to consist of four two-bedroom apartments and eight one-bedroom apartments which would be housed in a three-storey building at the location.
While the design of the development was considered acceptable to council architects, the application was refused as the site was not zoned for residential use.
Last year, An Coimisiun Pleanala upheld a council decision to refuse planning for 19 apartments at the site.
A revised application submitted to Mayo County Council reduced the scale of the housing project. The Planning Partnership, acting as agent for the developer, said the new proposal represents a significantly more compatible approach to the redevelopment of the site, resulting in the issue of land use zoning being capable of being resolved via the material contravention process.
“In summary, we submit that the development of a housing scheme on the subject site would be a positive outcome for the Pontoon / Turlough Road area, and Castlebar as a whole, and for the many households seeking accommodation in the area,” commented a planning statement.
The statement contended that the overall project would be anticipated to deliver in excess of €5 million in construction stage investment, and would support in the order of 60 or more jobs in the town along with housing for approximately 30 people.
An Architectural Design Statement submitted by Taylor McCarney Architects stated that the proposed residential development has been carefully designed to integrate with the established character of Castlebar while completing the urban site with a high-quality architectural response.
However, council planners said the zoning issue remained an obstacle to the project.
The local authority stated the site is currently on Enterprise/Employment Zoned Lands and this 'overrides all other factors associated with the development and the assessment of same'.
Planning permission was again refused as the development would ‘materially contravene land use zoning objective of the Castlebar Town and Environs Local Area Plan 2023-2029'.
