Revised plans submitted for housing project in Mayo town
A Mayo developer has lodged a fresh planning application seeking permission for a town centre development in Castlebar.
Planning was previously rejected in February for a 26-unit housing project located on a site at the junction of Stephen Garvey Way and Mountain View. Developer Harold Conway has submitted fresh plans reducing the number of units to 20 homes and a commercial unit.
Mayo County Council planners ruled that the original proposal for the five-storey apartment block would be visually obtrusive and excessive in size and scale for the area.
Local residents also expressed concerns about the project and its size. There were fears it would be an overdevelopment of the site located close to the TF Royal Hotel.
The new application reduces the scale, height, and number of apartments. The applicant aims to demolish the existing vacant two-storey house on the site and build a part three/part four-storey building incorporating 20 apartments which will consist of ten one-bedroom and ten two-bedroom units along with a commercial unit for retail or a café/deli.
“The larger units will be well placed to cater for a broad range of family formats, including smaller families but also particularly suited ‘right-size’ scenarios. The proposed development will therefore provide an appropriate and sustainable mix of units, catering for both the smaller and larger household sizes, in contemporary formats, in keeping with local and national policies,” the developer’s planning representative stated.
They contend that the overall project would deliver in the order of €8 million in construction stage investment, creating or supporting 100 or more jobs in the town along with housing for approximately 380 people on completion.
The planning statement submitted to the council remarks that issues arising in refusing planning permission for the previous application have been addressed by the current revised and reduced scheme and the 'ongoing national housing crisis justifies a presumption in favour of attracting more housing development, in the right location'.
The council is expected to make a decision by mid-August.
