Over 20 objections to apartments plan for Clonmore site

Westmeath County Council has received over 20 submissions objecting to a planning application for a new residential development in Clonmore.

The application, which was submitted by Peadar Conlon in early November and is the subject of a further information request by the council, includes details for the demolition of the former Clonmore Shopping Centre on the site and the construction of four retail units, six first floor apartments and 17 two-bed units over three storeys.

The submissions from householders in Clonmore Heights and Newbrook cite a number of areas of concern, including the density of the proposed development and its three-storey height; the lack of sufficient parking in the plan and the lack of a play area for children. A number of objectors also expressed concerns that apartment balconies and the building's rooftop garden will, in the words of the Newbrook and Clonmore Road Residents Association, “have a hugely negative impact” on their privacy.

In its submission, the residents association said that while it was pleased that “there is finally a proposal for a development of the eyesore that is the site of the derelict former Clonmore Shopping Centre”, it has “strong objections to the current proposal”.

The association says that the plan for 17 apartments is “just too dense to be adequately accommodated with the very limited size of this site” and that the “proposed three-storey building is completely incompatible with the surrounding bungalows on either side and two-storey houses to the rear of the development”.

Regarding the apartment balconies and the proposed rooftop garden, the residents association says that they will overlook a number of its members properties and could be “a huge security issue, or at the very least, make us feel less secure in our own homes”. The association also said that the rooftop garden “is likely to become a hotbed for anti-social behaviour”.