Planning Department’s Further Information request for Derg Marina development plan goes ‘some of the way’ but not far enough
Local residents in Ballina Killaloe, who have been up in arms over the density and scale of the proposed development at the Derg Marina, have given a guarded welcome to North Tipperary County Council Planning Departments’ detailed seven page request for further information from the developers.
Ballina Marina Action Group spokesperson, Joe Cahalane, reacting to the planning department’s request, said today, “The request is a litany of the concerns we have repeatedly raised since the development proposals were launched last year. The request is an unequivocal endorsement of local resident’s concerns. It is the design, scale and mass of the development that has continued to cause so much concern and the extraordinary pressure on what is already an over-burdened services infrastructure.”
Mr. Cahalane said that while the Council’s planning department’s request was indeed an unprecedented seven page detailed request for further information, the solutions being proposed do not go far enough. “One particular example that highlights this point is a failure to address the scale and mass of the largest and highest apartment block. “This is unacceptable. A common theme of the objections of the local community and various organisations is that the scale and density is totally unsuitable and is disproportionate to the scale of the heritage towns of Ballina /Killaloe.”
The request for further information questions the height and scale and calls for a reduction in scale, points out that there is an imbalance in the residential use, that there is an inadequate assessment on the impact of traffic and road safety, that there is inadequate assessment of the impact on fisheries and water, that there is failure to protect the Lady Lansdowne which is a protected structure, that they have not complied with the guidelines concerning proper flood risk assessment and waste management and that the development is premature pending the upgrade of the waste water treatment plant.
Mr. Cahalane said that BMAG are pleased to note that the planning department, taking into account the Integrated Tourism status of the site, have requested the developers to consult with the Department of the Environment 's Monument Services to investigate proposals to raise the Lady Lansdowne and exhibit it on site as a tourist attraction.
Mr. Cahalane also noted that the Planning Authority has frequently reiterated that the site is designated as Integrated Tourism and asks the developers to address issues that recognise this zoning. “We are continuing to appeal for a reasonable and practicable development that adds to the marina facility and not just replacing the existing facility with apartment blocks.”