Of Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016
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S. 4(1) of Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016 Inspector’s Report ABP-305552-19 Strategic Housing Development 661 homes, consisting of 509 houses and 152 apartments, as well as a creche, shop, café and a public park Location Rathmullan Road, Drogheda, Meath. Planning Authority Meath County Council Applicant Trailford Ltd. Prescribed Bodies Office of Public Works Louth County Council Irish Water Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht National Transport Authority ABP-305552-19 Inspector’s Report Page 1 of 56 Transport Infrastructure Ireland An Taisce Observers Senator Ged Nash Cllr Annie Hoey Mike and Sophie Egan Aine Matthews Oldbridge Village Tidy Towns Cllr James Byrne Protect East Meath Ltd Peter Ryan Highlands Residents Association Grainne & Anthony Joyce Date of Site Inspection 12th January 2020 Inspector Stephen J. O'Sullivan ABP-305552-19 Inspector’s Report Page 2 of 56 Contents 1.0 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 4 2.0 Site Location and Description .............................................................................. 4 3.0 Proposed Strategic Housing Development .......................................................... 5 4.0 Planning History ................................................................................................... 6 5.0 Section 5 Pre Application Consultation ................................................................ 6 6.0 Relevant Planning Policy ................................................................................... 10 7.0 Third Party Submissions .................................................................................... 18 8.0 Planning Authority Submission .......................................................................... 20 9.0 Prescribed Bodies .............................................................................................. 22 10.0 Appropriate Assessment ............................................................................. 24 11.0 Environmental Impact Assessment ............................................................. 29 12.0 Assessment of other issues ........................................................................ 37 13.0 Recommendation ........................................................................................ 46 14.0 Reasons and Considerations ...................................................................... 46 15.0 Conditions ................................................................................................... 49 ABP-305552-19 Inspector’s Report Page 3 of 56 1.0 Introduction This is an assessment of a proposed strategic housing development submitted to the Board under section 4(1) of the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016. 2.0 Site Location and Description The site is at the western edge of Drogheda, to the immediate east of the M1, south of the River Boyne and adjacent to the Meath / Louth county boundary. It is c2km form Drogheda town centre and c. 3.5 km from the train station. The site has a stated area of 26.2ha and is agricultural land. The northern part of the site is a wooded area that slopes sharply down to the level of the road along the riverbank. The rest of the site is arable land that has an gentle, even slope down from south to north. Farm buildings stand in two places on the site. The M1 motorway runs along the western site boundary. The northern, eastern and southern site boundaries are along rural roads. Their nomenclature varies in the application and submissions. In this report the Rathmullan Road refers to the suburban road that runs east from the site to the centre of Drogheda. The Sheephouse Road runs south from a junction with the Rathmullan Road on the eastern site boundary. The Oldbridge Road runs north from that junction between the site and Boyne. There is a pedestrian boardwalk along this stretch of the river that runs back to the town centre. The Riverbank estate is to the north east of the development site in Co. Louth on the opposite side of the Oldbridge Road. Construction has commenced on a residential development on land to the south-east of the site on the other side of the Sheephouse Road. Two existing detached houses stand on the other side of that road near the south-eastern corner of the site. ABP-305552-19 Inspector’s Report Page 4 of 56 3.0 Proposed Strategic Housing Development The proposed development would provide 661 homes. The proposed housing mix would be as follows- 1 bed 2 bed 3 bed 4 bed Total Houses 158 269 82 509 Apartments 13 139 152 Total 13 297 269 82 661 The gross floor area of the residential development would be 69,987m2 . It is also proposed to build a creche of 468m2, a shop of 318m2 and a café of 63m2. They would be situated near the Sheephouse Road in the south-eastern part of the scheme. The northern part of the site near the Boyne would be laid out as public open space. There would also be a linear open space along the western side of the scheme beside the motorway. The houses would be two storeys high. The apartments would be provided in 6 blocks between 3 and 5 storeys high (one of which would have a shop on the ground floor) and in another 21no. 3-storey blocks on corner plots attached to terraces of houses. Blocks B1, B2 and B3 would in the north-east corner of the scheme would be 4 and 5 storeys high. They would be served by lifts; the other 3 storey apartment buildings would not. The main access to the scheme would be from a new four arm signalised junction on the Rathmullan Road near the middle of the eastern site boundary. The eastern arm of that junction would be part of the Rathmullan Road that runs through the existing built up area of Drogheda in Co Louth. It has a footpath on one side. The proposed scheme would be served by four other priority junctions on the Sheephouse Road. It is proposed to upgrade Sheephouse Road along the site boundary south of the proposed signalised junction to provide a carriageway 7m wide and a footpath/cycleway along one side of it. Part of the line of the road would be diverted into the proposed development, leaving a loop of the existing road to serve two neighbouring houses and one of the proposed apartment blocks (E). It is also ABP-305552-19 Inspector’s Report Page 5 of 56 proposed to upgrade the Oldbridge Road to the north of the proposed signalised junction by providing a footpath on the far side of the road that would lead to the walkway along the river. 1,372 car parking spaces would be provided including 2 for each house and 238 to serve the apartments, with the other spaces for visitors. The application seeks a permission with an appropriate period of 10 years. 4.0 Planning History PL17. 224875. Reg. Ref. SA60220 – On 31st October 2008 the board granted permission for 509 homes on the site, consisting of 395 houses and 114 apartments. The planning authority had decided to grant permission. The initial application sought permission for 745 homes. This permission was not implemented Reg. Ref. LB170675 – In October 2018 the council granted permission for 156 homes on a site to the east of the current site on the other side of the Sheephouse Road. Appeals against the council’s decision were withdrawn from the board on in October 2018. Development has commenced on this site. 5.0 Section 5 Pre Application Consultation A pre-application consultation with the applicants and the planning authority took place at the offices of An Bord Pleanála on 20th February 2019 in respect of a proposed development on the site. The main topics raised for discussion at the tripartite meeting were as follows: 1. Meath County Development Plan zoning objectives, phasing. 2. Roads and traffic impacts 3. Residential design and layout, landscape and visual impacts 4. Site Services and Flood Risk 5. Archaeology 6. Any other matters Copies of the record of the meeting and the inspector’s report are on this file. ABP-305552-19 Inspector’s Report Page 6 of 56 The board issued an opinion on which stated that the submitted documents required further consideration and amendment to constitute a reasonable basis for an application for strategic housing development in respect of the following issues - Timing and Phasing of Development Further consideration and/or justification of the documents as they relate to the development of Phase II residential lands as set out in the statutory county development plan and the possible prematurity of development at this location pending the completion of the review of both the Louth and Meath county development plan process and the more strategic planning policy context in particular the draft Regional Economic and Spatial Strategy which contains an objective RPO 4.8 relating to the preparation of a Joint Urban Plan for Drogheda. An appropriate statement in relation to section 8(1)(iv) of the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016, as amended by Section 53 of the Act of 2018, that outlines consistency with the relevant development plan and that specifically addresses any matter that maybe considered to materially contravene the said plan should be provided. In this context reference should be made to the draft Regional Economic and Spatial Strategy and the Joint Urban Plan which will replace existing statutory plans for the area. Further consideration of these issues may require an amendment to the documents and/or design proposal submitted. Vehicular Access,