An Bord Pleanála Inspector’s Report An Bord Pleanala Reference PL 05.227418 DEVELOPMENT: House, septic tank and percolation area at Birchill, Donegal Town. Co. Donegal PLANNING APPLICATION Planning Authority: Donegal County Council Planning Authority Reg. No: 07/20150 Applicant: Edward & Irene Doherty Application Type: Permission Planning Authority Decision: To Grant Permission APPEAL Appellant: National Roads Authority Type of Appeal: Third Party Date of Inspection: May 20 th , 2008 Inspector: Breda Gannon Appendix 1: Annotated Photographs Site Plan/Extracts from Development Plan _____________________________________________________________________ PL 05.227418 An Bord Pleanála Page 1 of 8 INTRODUCTION This is Third Party appeal against the decision by Donegal County Council to grant permission for the development. SITE LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION The site is located c 4.5 km north-east of Donegal town in Co. Donegal. The site is located on the east side of the N 15 that links the town through Barnsmore Gap with Letterkenny. The area is one of undulating rural countryside and the predominant land use is agricultural pastureland. The pattern of development is predominantly dispersed. The site is rectangular in shape and is part of a larger agricultural field. Its front boundary is formed by a wooden fence, its east and rear boundaries by hedgerows. The western boundary is as yet undefined. The site is almost level with the adjoining carriageway. Immediately to the east and further west there are residential properties. PLANNING APPLICATION The proposal is to construct a storey and a half scale house on the site which will have a maximum ridge height of 6.6 m. The house will be set back 43.3 m from the centre line of the adjoining National Primary Road and will be accessed from the road via a right of way located at the north eastern end of the site frontage. Foul effluent from the house will be discharged to a septic tank and soakpit prior to discharge to ground. PLANNING HISTORY 1. 06/20327 –Permission refused for a house, domestic garage and septic tank on this site for reasons relating to traffic hazard and contravention of the policies of the plan with respect to the restriction of the number of access points/ intensification of use of existing access points onto National Primary Roads. PLANNING REPORTS The Senior Planner’s report of 15/11/07 notes the location of the site within an area designated ‘Rural Areas Outside Towns and Villages’. A previous application was made on the lands that incorporate the site (06/20327) with similar access arrangements. The application was refused permission for reasons of traffic safety and that it would materially contravene the provisions of the Plan which restricts the number of new access points or intensification of use of existing access points onto National Primary Roads outside speed limit areas. The siting of the dwelling in visual terms is considered acceptable within the landscape. In the absence of a site suitability assessment, the planning authority is not satisfied that the applicant has demonstrated that adequate provision has been made for the safe and adequate treatment and disposal of wastewater. The house design in not wholly in accordance with the guidance provided in Appendix E. Simple modifications could make it compliant without prejudicing the floor space available to the applicants. The front projection on the front elevation should be omitted, the upper lintels to the windows on the side projection should be squared off instead of curved and the hipped _____________________________________________________________________ PL 05.227418 An Bord Pleanála Page 2 of 8 roof on the western gable end elevation of the side projection should be amended to an apex pitched roof that reflects the roof design of the remainder of the dwelling. The key issue pertaining to the application is that of access, which will be taken off the National Primary Road, where the maximum speed limit applies. The Strategic Road Network policies of the Plan aim to safeguard the carrying capacity of the National Roads through restricting the number of new access points and intensification of existing access points outside the 60 km/h speed limit. Section 2.2 of Appendix A does confirm that developments resulting in an intensification of an existing private access road onto the National Primary Road shall be considered having regard to various factors including the length of the private road and the number of dwellings exiting onto the private road. The application proposes access onto a laneway that co-joins the N 15. The laneway cannot be considered to be a ‘private road’ and in any case would result in a significant intensification of use of this entrance. A refusal of permission is not inconsistent with other decisions taken in respect to other developments that have been granted permission (see text). The applicant in this case does not satisfy the policy provisions of the Plan and is contrary to government guidelines. The proposal is considered by the NRA and the Council’s engineers in the Roads and Transportation Service to endanger public safety by reason of traffic hazard. The potential traffic hazard is considered to be an unacceptable risk . The Area Roads Engineer’s report recommends refusal of the application on road safety grounds. It is noted that the proposed access is onto a very fast section of the National Primary Road where there is good overtaking possibilities. To allow an access in this position would greatly increase the probability of a serious traffic accident. The proposal is contrary to Section 2.2.1 of the County Development Plan. The NRDO report of 5/9/07 recommends refusal of the application for the following reasons:- The application is proposing to intensify an existing private vehicular entrance onto a highly trafficked 100 km/h section of the National Primary Road that is designated the Atlantic Corridor under Transport 21. It will severely compromise the safety, capacity and the overall functioning of the National Route. Section 2.2.1 of Appendix A of the Plan restricts the intensification of existing private access points onto the National Network outside the 60 km/h limit. The exempt categories in the development plan do not cover this application. The development is therefore contrary to the provisions of the Plan. The sight distances as set out in the development plan are not illustrated on the submitted drawings. This will increase the risk of serious accidents at this location and affect all road users. It is National policy that no development, resulting in intensification of an existing private entrance be permitted onto the National Roads where the maximum speed limit applies. The government through the NRA has invested a significant amount of money on capital projects on this route in recent times (i.e. Ballyshannon and Donegal By-pass and the Clar-Barnes Realignment scheme). _____________________________________________________________________ PL 05.227418 An Bord Pleanála Page 3 of 8 Going forward, this route under Transport 21 has upgrade plans as part of the Atlantic Corridor route from Donegal to Waterford and has received funding in 2007 to advance planning. Therefore further investment could be jeopardised if National policies are ignored. The NRA in their report of 17/8/07 recommended refusal of the application on similar grounds to those cited in the appeal. PLANNING AUTHORITY’S DECISION The planning authority decided to grant permission for the development subject to 9 conditions, which include the following conditions of note. Condition No 1 – Enurement clause Condition No 2 – The design of the dwelling to be modified by the omission of the apex projection to the front elevation, provision of apex pitched roof to western living room/utility room side projection and provision of revised window details on the front elevation on the western living room/utility room side projection to details to be agreed Condition No 3 (e) – Provision of permanent visibility splays in accordance with NRA DMRB standards Condition No 6 – Financial contribution. Condition No 8 – Requirements re wastewater treatment system which shall be via a secondary treatment system Condition No 9 – Boundary planting. APPEAL SUBMISSIONS 3rd PARTY APPEAL The following summarises the grounds of appeal: - 1. Official policy in relation to development involving access to national roads and development along such roads is set out in the “Development Control Advice and Guidelines” and the “ Policy and Planning Framework for Roads” published by the DoE respectively in 1982 and 1985. The Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines for Planning Authorities, published by the DoEHLG in April 2005, reiterate that earlier policy position and go further in that the Guidelines require that the objectives and policies of the development plan should make it clear that direct access from future development should not be permitted to national roads outside the speed limits for towns and villages. Section 3.3.4 of the Guidelines state that “ Development control policy should, in the first instance, seek to channel traffic from new development onto existing local roads and in this way use establish access points to gain entry onto national roads” . The proposal would if approved intensify the use of a private lane which accesses into the N 15 National Primary Road at a location where the maximum speed limit ( 100 km/h) applies is, in the Authority’s opinion, at variance with the foregoing national policy in relation to the control of frontage development on national roads. 2. The National Roads programme supports official policies on competitiveness, balanced regional development and the National Spatial Strategy. The provision and maintenance of high quality access routes to regions and to designated hubs and _____________________________________________________________________ PL 05.227418 An Bord Pleanála Page 4 of 8 gateways under the National Spatial Strategy are fundamental to the achievement of the objectives of these policies.