Six-storey apartment and retail building approved

A LANDMARK development which would change the face of Navan on the southern side of the river Blackwater has been giving the go-ahead by planners at Meath County Council.

The proposal by Foxtrot Investments 2011 will see a six-storey high apartment and retail building at Balmoral Industrial Park on the Kells Road, with 63 ‘build to rent’ apartments and a discount supermarket on the site.

Architects Arthur Gibney and Partners drew up the plans, with John Spain and Associates acting on behalf of Foxtrot, whose directors are listed as Cillian Smyth and Susanne O’Neill.

There has been permission for development on the site for some time, as part of a masterplan for the Balmoral estate, which the applicants say sets out a vision and framework for the delivery of a high quality development including retail, office, medical centre, leisure, residential and employment uses.

"The masterplan provides the lands at Balmoral with the opportunity to create a vibrant quarter on the edge of Navan town centre, with strong linkages and synergy with the town centre providing high quality design, architecture, and public realm," they say.

The new proposal consisted of amendments to the permitted development, to provide 63 'build to rent' apartments (27 one-bed, 35 two-bed units and one three-bed unit).

It replaces the permitted office/medical use at first floor level with 11 residential apartments and one at fifth floor level.

Retail use is to be retained at lower ground floor level, with the omission of a basement and the provision of a surface car pa

Currently on the site are two light industrial units and a surface car park.

Meath County Council has granted the permission, with 23 conditions regarding infrastructure and levies.