Mayo housing project gets go-ahead despite opposition

Planning permission has been granted for 47 houses in Ballina despite local concerns.

Thawside Ltd was given the green light by Mayo County Council to construct 47 houses at Friarscourt, Laghtadawannagh, Killala Road, Ballina. The development will consist of 32 three-bed semi-detached, six two-bed semi-detached and nine four-bed detached houses. 

Thawside has had two previous planning applications for this site, one for 92 houses and another for 54 houses, refused permission after appeals by residents in the existing Friarscourt estate.

The Friarscourt Residents' Association made a collective submission in relation to this latest application citing concerns over the use of the existing roadway in the estate for construction traffic.

The residents said the road infrastructure within the estate is not adequate to facilitate a development of this volume and the development would cause an increased traffic risk. They said that the traffic survey attached to the planning application was “flawed” as it was carried out during the Covid-19 lockdown following a Government recommendation to revert to working from home during a period of reduced traffic volume.

They also raised concerns over the detrimental impact this traffic could have on pyrite-impacted houses in Friarscourt estate. However, the council agreed to grant planning permission for the proposed development subject to a number of conditions. Among the conditions is that the developer enter into a formal agreement with the local authority for the facilitation of a temporary construction access road on lands owned by the council.