Zoning anomaly in housing plan for Kinnegad
A developer who intends building a large-scale housing development at Kinnegad has been told by An Coimisiún Pleanála that 10 homes need to be omitted from the finished project, as the ground for which they are planned is technically outside of the area of Kinnegad zoned ‘residential’.
Lynx Developments Limited was looking for clearance to go ahead with a 125-unit development with childcare facility on a 3.87 hectare site at Killucan Road, Kinnegad.
The location for which the development is planned is on the Killucan Road, and adjacent to Manorfield estate and to Kinnegad GAA, and had in the early 2000s it had previously been subject to groundworks associated with an unfinished housing estate.
In their report, An Coimisiún Pleanála inspector identified what she termed as “an anomaly” with regard to the zoning of part of the site.
That meant that units 7 to 16 were technically outside the “settlement boundary” of the town.
The Lynx Developments application was approved by Westmeath County Council n September 2025, but that decision was appealed to An Coimisiún Pleanála both by the developers themselves, and by Agnieszka Kotsulska, of the neighbouring Manorfield estate, on behalf of the Manorfield residents.
The sole ground of appeal by Ms Kotsulska related to the proposed pedestrian/cycle connection intended to link the new estate to Manorfield, while the Lynx Developments appeal was against some of the conditions imposed by the county council.
The application was originally for a total of 103 houses and 22 apartments and the childcare facility.
The decision by An Coimisiún Pleanála to refuse permission for houses 7 to 16 was described as being in the interest of clarity, and a condition of the permission that the area in which it had been intended that unit numbers 7 to 16 should go, is to be seeded and fenced off until any future permitted development takes place there.
Another condition is that not more than 74 of the residential units are to be made available for occupation before the childcare facility is completed to operational standard.
Proposals for a naming and numbering scheme and associated signage also have to be agreed in writing with the planning authority prior to the commencement of development.
The board did not go along with a recommendation of the inspector that permission for the 22 apartments should be refused.
The site on which the new development is to go is a brownfield backland/infill site of 3.87 hectares, adjacent to the GAA grounds and to Manorfield housing estate.
The site had previously been subject to groundworks associated with an unfinished housing estate.