A RESIDENTS association outside Limerick City has said that if a planning application for a large-scale development in their area gets the go ahead by council planners without addressing their concerns, they will appeal it to An Bord Pleanála.
Representatives for the residents association of the Evanwood estate in Castletroy, as well as residents from neighbouring estates Kylemore and Ashford, have been actively opposing plans for a 122-unit development on the Golf Links Road in the Castletroy-Monaleen area.
Developer Philip Collins recently submitted documents to Limerick City and County Council outlining a large-scale residential development on the Golf Links Road that could provide 122 new houses and apartments.
The retention of an existing house on the site would see the total number of properties on the site stand at 123.
Residents in the area have raised a number of issues around drainage, the height and density of the proposed development, the impact on their privacy, as well as the lack of amenities in the Castletroy area as grounds for their objection.
Speaking to the Limerick Post, a representative of the Evanwood Residents Association, who asked to be named, said that the residents of the three estates would not be happy to see development go ahead on the site unless their concerns are taken into consideration.
“We know there’s a housing crisis, we know we need to build houses, we’ve no problem with houses getting built, but one thing with Castletroy at the moment, we’re lacking amenities,” the association spokesperson said.
“Our infrastructure for Castletroy is not good enough for the amount of houses and people they’re putting in at the moment, it’s literally bursting at the seams.”
An organised flyer campaign to help bolster local support for the objections has been exercised by the residents association in recent weeks.
Each of the three estates have raised different issues relating to the development, with the drainage issues and privacy the top of the list for residents of Evanwood, the entrance route being the big issue for residents of Ashford, while, for people living in the Kylemore estate, access to the new estate leading into their estate is the biggest issue.
Under the plans, the new development would link up to existing drainage systems shared by Evanwood and Cairnsfort, as well as using the entrance of the Ashford estate as the main entrance.
“From Evanwood’s point of view, we’ve a problem with our drainage in our estate,” the associations spokesman said.
“When our builder built in our part of the estate, we were at a slightly lower level, so the wastewater flows backwards instead of going out of the estate. Over the last two or three years, there has been trucks in there sucking out the drains.”
The “safety” of having a shared entrance to the new estate that’s used by the Ashford estate and the Tall Trees Crèche is also a big issue for the residents, with the representative saying that around 250 cars a day already use the entrance.
A town hall meeting was held in Monaleen GAA club earlier this month, with local TDs and councillors also in attendance.
“We don’t have enough schools out in this area, both Monaleen and Milford are busting at the seams with people trying to get their kids in there,” the spokesman claimed.
“We’ve no Garda station, the amount of thefts going on out here at the moment is crazy. And, as I said to the TDs that were there, ‘when is enough, enough?'”
“If this planning goes ahead without addressing our objections, I’ll go to An Bord Pleanála.”
The developer was contacted for comment.
