High rise development gets green light in Navan

Council planners have given the green light for a landmark development that is set to transform the Academy Street, Circular Road and Bridge Street area of Navan.

Planning permission has been granted to the Academy Street Partnership for a mixed-use development on both sides of Circular Road of up to nine storeys in height.

The proposal involves two sites- site A at the junction of Academy Street and Circular Road, and site B which is across the road at the junction of Bridge Street and Circular Road.

The plans for site A include a ground floor retail unit and 86 apartments in three blocks, ranging in height from three to nine storeys. This is made up of one studio apartment, 30 one-bedroom apartments, 51 two-bedroom apartments and four three-bedroom apartments.

The application initially provided for 95 apartments but this was reduced to 86 at further information stage. Car parking was also reduced from 146 spaces to 126 and the size of the commercial unit was almost halved from 574sqm to 289sqm

Plans for Site B at Circular Road's junction with Bridge Street include a four to six storey building with retail and office use at ground floor, with office us from the first to fourth floor.

Planners had raised concerns about the height and scale of the building at further information stage and the planning report noted that while the maximum height remained at 31.9m, "the proposed buildings had been significantly redesigned to reduce the bulk and mass effect and allow for a better penetration of light through the development".

The planner concluded that following consideration and assessment of the Further Information, they were of the view that the overall proposed was considered acceptable and generally complies with the policy and objectives of the Meath County Development Plan.

It was recommended that planning be granted subject to conditions with the planner noting that "having regard to the nature and scale of the proposed development, the suitability of the site, the pattern of development in the vicinity, national, regional and local policy in relation to urban housing", and subject to compliance with conditions, "the proposed development would not seriously injure the visual amenities of hte area or the residential amenities of the properties in the vicinity and would not be likely to have significant effects on the environment or the ecology of the area".