Springfield apartments given planning go-ahead

Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District has gone against the recommendation of its own planners and granted planning permission for a new residential development in Springfield.

The local authority has given the green light for 12 new apartments on a backland site adjacent to Springfield Cottages despite its own planning department recommending that the development should not go ahead.

Applicant Liam Leech’s original submission included details for the construction of a three-storey apartment building consisting of nine one-bedroom units and seven two-beds. Following a further information request, he proposed reducing the number of units from 16 to 12 and removing the third storey of the apartment.

Despite these proposals, the planning department still recommended that the application be refused, saying that the development would result in an over-development of the site “by reason of its density, height, scale and proximity to boundaries”.

“It would constitute haphazard, disorderly, backland development, which would be out of character with the surrounding area and fail to enhance or protect the character of the adjacent Architectural Conservation Area and would be an undesirable precedent for similar future developments. Furthermore, it is considered that the proposed development would by reason of its location, form and aspect appear out of character and incongruent with adjoining and nearby properties and the general established pattern of development within this area.”

Two residents living in Springfield Cottages made submissions objecting to the proposed development, citing a number of issues including concerns a project of this scale would have on their privacy.

Disagreeing with the recommendation to refuse the planning application, director of service Martin Murray noted that “the National Planning Framework advocates that in order to enable brownfield development, planning policies need to be flexible, focusing on design-led and performance-based outcomes, rather than specifying absolute requirements in all cases”.

He said that the reasons for refusal “can be satisfactorily addressed by way of condition”.