Kinnegad retirement village appeal lodged with Bord Pleanála

The promoter of a retirement village and residential care home proposed for Kinnegad has lodged an appeal with An Bord Pleanála on foot of Westmeath County Council’s refusal to grant planning permission for the development.

Gerry Maguire of 20 Heathfield, Kinnegad applied in June of 2022 to Westmeath County Council for planning permission to build the complex on a 4.51-hectare site at Mullingar Road, Kinnegad.

Permission was refused on March 28 of this year.

The development proposed was for a two-storey residential care home spanning 6,279 square metres, and accommodating 108 beds.

Alongside it, the plan proposed construction of 30 one-bed assisted-living units; 15 two-bed independent living units and extension of an existing cottage on site.

The plan also proposed construction of a 195 sq m community hall and provision of 128 car parking spaces and 35 cycle spaces.

TURNED DOWN

Westmeath County Council turned down the application on the grounds that “the proposed development, and in particular the siting and design of the proposed nursing home within the overall development, on unzoned lands, by virtue of its design, scale and form, fails to provide the optimum design and layout solution to allow the proposed development to integrate successfully with adjoining built form”.

The council stated that accordingly, to permit the development as proposed would substantially detract from the residential amenities of adjoining residential units to the east of this site.

In addition, approval would be contrary to Policy Objective PO 8.109 of the Westmeath County Development Plan 2021-2027, which outlines that it is the council’s policy objective “to allow the appropriate consideration of provision of a nursing home with an activity facility and meeting room as a central area for a small cluster of housing that would support an elderly population in accessing services they require locally within a sustainable development”.

The council went on to add that approval would also be contrary to policy objective PO 16.11 of the County Development Plan as it did not present a considered design approach to tailor the scale, design and layout in response to the individual character of its immediate surroundings within the town of Kinnegad.

The council added: “In this regard, to permit the development as proposed would be premature, would depreciate the value of property in the vicinity, would set an undesirable precedent for similar development of this type in the future and would therefore be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area,” the council concluded.

The An Bord Pleanála decision on the case is on August 22 of this year.