Ten new houses for retirement village given the go-ahead

An Bord Pleanála has given the go-ahead for ten houses at Kilmainhamwood Retirement Village, upholding the decision of Meath Co Council to grant permission for the development.

Kilmainhamwood Area Development Association, or KADA Ltd as it is known, is proposing to build ten single-storey sheltered houses and associated site works at the retirement village, located at Boynagh, Kilmainhamwood.

While Meath Co Council granted planning permission subject to conditions for the additional houses at the complex in October 2022, this decision was appealed by Noreen Coen, an owner/occupier of a property of the retirement village, while Mary Coen, an owner/occupier is listed as an observer to the appeal.

One of the 12 grounds listed in Noreen Coen's appeal was that Kilmainhmawood was not a suitable location for the expansion of sheltered accommodation as there are inadequate shops, there is no local GP practice and healthcare centre, that the bus service is infrequent, that the proposal would increase the scale of the facility too much, that it does not provide for off street parking for existing houses and would take away green space and parking for existing houses. Another one of the grounds of appeal related to the nuisance and impact of noise during construction on residents.

A previous planning application lodged in 2021 for 33 modular houses at the site, which was granted planning permission by Meath Co Council was subsequently refused by An Bord Pleanála following an appeal by Noreen and Mary Coen. The reason given for refusal was that the scale of the development would exceed the quantum of residential development for Kilmainhamwood in the core strategy of the Meath County Development Plan 2013 to 2019.

A new planning application was lodged six months later by KADA Ltd, this time for ten single-storey house and associated works.

After considering the appeal, An Bord Pleanala last month gave the green light for the development with the inspector stating that it was considered that subject to compliance with the conditions set out, “the proposed development would be acceptable and would provide an adequate level of residential amenity for future residents, would not seriously injure the residential or visual amenities of the area, would be acceptable in terms of the safety and convenience of pedestrians and road users and would not be prejudicial to public health” and would therefore be “in accordance with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.”

One of the conditions is that the houses must be occupied by persons aged 55 or over, or those with a certified medical need for sheltered housing and spouses or partners of such persons.

News that the development has been given the go-ahead by an Bord Pleanala has been welcomed by KADA chairperson, Robert McKinley. He said: “It has been a frustrating number of year in relation to this planning but we are delighted it has now been approved and we look forward to delivering these 10 houses as we know there is a real need for them in our area.”