An Bord Pleanála Inspector’s Report PL 07.240206 PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT: Temporary permission to construct six classroom educational building, staff room, office and associated works. LOCATION: Kilcolgan, County Galway. PLANNING APPLICATION Planning Authority (P.A.): Galway County Council P.A. Reg. Ref.: 11/755 Applicants: Thomas and Nancy Neilan Application Type: Permission (Temporary) P.A. Decision: Grant temporary permission, subject to conditions. PLANNING APPEAL Appellant: Alan Kelly Type of Appeal: Third Party – v – Grant Site Inspection: 5 June, 2012 Appendices: Photographs and Key Map; Development Plan Extracts; Site Location Sketch. ___________________________________________________________________________ PL 07.240206 An Bord Pleanála Page 1 of 16 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 This is a third party appeal against the decision of Galway County Council to grant a temporary permission for a six classroom school building including staff room and office. The proposed school would be serviced by an on-site wastewater treatment facility with percolation area etc. 1.2 The Board will be aware that a permission was granted, upheld on appeal for a primary (“Educate Together”) school complex elsewhere in Kilcolgan, earlier this year. Applicants state in correspondence, on the current file, that the current proposal is being put forward separately from any Educate Together proposal. 1.3 The temporary permission conditioned by the Planning Authority is in response to the submission of the applicant seeking only a temporary permission. Clarification on the purpose of the temporary permission was sought and offered in “further information” at planning application stage. 1.4 I have read the file and visited the site and can now report as set down below. 2.0 SITE CONTEXT AND DESCRIPTION 2.1 Site Location 2.1.1 The site is located within the generally built-up area of Kilcolgan village. It has frontage on the N18 National Primary Route (part of the main Galway-Ennis Road) to the east of the site, and frontage on a minor road on the northern site boundary. Access to/from the site is proposed on this northern road frontage. 2.1.2 On the opposite side of the roads adjoining the appeal site there is a mixture of mainly residential and commercial/retail and some access to agricultural lands. The development on the eastern side of the N18 in this vicinity is set back from the main road carriageway and separated from it by a stone wall and service road comprising what appears to be the old main road in this area. 2.1.3 The 60kph speed limit applies throughout Kilcolgan, including the road from which access is proposed. 2.1.4 The appeal site (and most of the remainder of the field of which it forms part) appears as elevated ground in the local landscape, notably as viewed from the northern main road approach to the village. From this viewpoint the profile of the site is visible as a backdrop to the nearby Post Office. The wider environment in the vicinity is characterised by mature trees including some rooted within the northern boundary of the appeal site. The trees in the vicinity have a significant screening effect on the built-up area as viewed from the minor scenic road in the valley/estuary of the Kilcolgan River to the north-west. ___________________________________________________________________________ PL 07.240206 An Bord Pleanála Page 2 of 16 2.2 Site Description 2.2.1 The site itself comprises overgrown grassland. To the north it is bounded by a stone wall with overgrown hedgerow including trees, with a single gated agricultural access. To the east there is a stone wall edge to the back of the footpath adjoining the N18 public road. To the south and west the site is open to the field of which it forms part. 2.2.2 The field including the site is mainly level and appears well drained. There is a gentle fall in the ground to the north and a steeper embankment close to the eastern site boundary, probably associated with the historic cut of the widened main road in the vicinity. 3.0 PLANNING HISTORY 3.1 The planning reports for the Planning Authority prepared at planning application stage list nineteen planning applications stated to have been “within 150 metres of this application”. Site location maps have not been provided, and none is distinguished as being particularly relevant to the current planning application/appeal case. However both the applicants and the appellant have highlighted particular cases in their submissions on file, which I shall include in a summary of potentially relevant cases, below. Most of the cases in the summary list below were the subject of appeals to An Bord Pleanála. All of those listed relate to sites in the townland of Kilcolgan. It may be noted that this townland extends from the village of Kilcolgan westwards and northwards to the tidal shoreline of the Kilcolgan River estuary. 3.2 The summary list of potentially relevant cases is divided into cases relating to the current appeal site and others in the vicinity. Although some of the cases are dated, they are included for completeness of information in the context of submissions made to An Bord Pleanála by the parties to the appeal. 3.2.1 Site History 98/2250 (PL07.112989) Refusal upheld on appeal (year 2000) for mixed development including supermarket/post office/4 no. retail units, petrol filling station, 7 no. apartments and on-site wastewater treatment facilities. 00/4631 Permission granted in 2004 for retail units including post office, off-licence and hardware store and on-site wastewater treatment plant. Conditions attached included certain conditions relating to building line and finished floor levels, including certain details to be agreed with the Planning Authority prior to the commencement of development. The development was not undertaken and the relevant permission is understood to have now withered. 3.2.2 Lands in the Vicinity 07/1060 (PL07.225974) Refusal on appeal (2008) for 23 no. unit housing development including on-site wastewater treatment system. Reasons for refusal were ___________________________________________________________________________ PL 07.240206 An Bord Pleanála Page 3 of 16 three, relating to: absence of planned physical infrastructure; piecemeal development in the absence of a local plan; risk of groundwater pollution. 08/114 (PL07.229855) Permission refused on appeal (2008) for a mixed use development including 56 no. houses, crèche, retail, offices and on-site treatment plant. Reasons for refusal were four, relating to: physical infrastructural deficiencies, piecemeal development; risk of groundwater pollution; and traffic hazard. 10/462 Refusal of permission for a single dwelling with on-site treatment unit (2010). Reasons for refusal were two based on traffic hazard and effluent impact on ground and surface waters, prejudicial to public health and harmful to the environment including Natura 2000 sites. 11/679 (PL07.239559) Permission granted, upheld on appeal this year for a primary school, crèche and medical centre (file available for reference). This permission does not appear to have been acted upon to date. 4.0 PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING AUTHORITY DECISION 4.1 Proposed Development 4.1.1 The proposed development is described in the planning application and public notices as being an application for: “… temporary planning permission to construct a six classroom educational building to include staff room, resource rooms, office and toilets to Department of Education specifications; treatment unit, percolation area and all associated site services…” 4.1.2 Site area is stated to be 0.8590 hectares. Gross floor space of the proposed works is stated to be 690 square metres. 4.1.3 Source of water supply is stated to be public mains. 4.1.4 Wastewater treatment is proposed by way of an onsite wastewater treatment plant (details provided, and elaborated in further information). 4.1.5 Surface water disposal is stated to soak-pit. 4.1.6 A covering letter was submitted with the application (OPC Design & Planning). The main points made in this letter may be summarised: - need for more educational facilities at Kilcolgan: currently school children must be enrolled in Clarinbridge, Oranmore, Kinvara and Gort; - at “pre-planning” stage the Planning Authority has indicated development to be acceptable in principle; - site planning history has included permission granted for a petrol station and shop, never implemented; - lands to the west and south of the site have been the subject of “successful high density planning applications”; ___________________________________________________________________________ PL 07.240206 An Bord Pleanála Page 4 of 16 - access, parking and transport arrangements have been designed to maximise safety/sustainable travel patterns and comply with the requirements of the development plan for the area, moreover the county road – from which access is proposed – forms a low volume junction with the N18 at “non-peak hours”; - design is consistent with the Department of Education standards for temporary structures; - on-site wastewater treatment has been designed and specified in accordance with prevailing EPA Standards. 4.2 Initial Assessment for Planning Authority 4.2.1 The initial assessment for the Planning Authority is set out in the Planning Report dated 18 July 2011. There were no fundamental objections in principle raised, although a query was raised over the precise purpose of a temporary permission in the context presented. 4.2.2 The assessment concluded with a recommendation to seek further information under four headings: • roads issues; • justification/purpose of “temporary permission sought”; • clarification on adequacy of wastewater treatment percolation area; • landscaping proposals. 4.3 Further Information Sought and Obtained By letter dated 19 July 2011 the Planning Authority sought further information as recommended in the Planning Report to which I have referred, above. A submission in response to the further information queries raised was submitted to the Planning Authority on 23 December 2011 under cover of a letter prepared by OPC Design and Building.