Decision due on 60 home plan in Coosan

Westmeath County Council is due to announce a decision this Wednesday, September 15 on a proposal for over 60 new homes on a prime site in Coosan.

Blue Ridge Developments Ltd lodged plans back in January, for 62 new units, a mix of terraced, semi-detached houses and duplex apartments on a four-acre greenfield site along what's described as Coosan Link Road, Clonbrusk, on land, it's understood stretches behind the Bloomfield Drive estate.

The proposal came on foot of the approval last October of 426 homes a short distance away on land adjacent to Buccaneers rugby club, to the north of the Coosan Road in the townlands of Coosan, Cornamagh, and Clonbrusk despite a huge wave of local opposition. While much smaller in scale, should the latest proposals progress it would mean close to 500 homes could be built in this area in the future.

The company behind the project said in planning documents that what it seeks to create is “a high-quality residential apartment development in an established and well-serviced location” by providing homes of “high architectural quality”.

Westmeath County Council hit the pause button on the development back in March when it sought further information about several aspects of the plans, asking for a number of assessments to be carried out before a final decision could be made. Among these were an Ecological Impact Assessment, an Appropriate Assessment Screening report to identify any impacts to several Natura 2000 sites nearby, a Traffic and Transport Assessment and a Road Safety Audit.

More information and revised proposals on other aspects of plans like drainage, boundary treatment, architectural design and construction management also formed part of the further information request by the local authority in March. The applicant supplied the information in July allowing a decision to be made on Wednesday.

The project attracted seven different submissions according to the Westmeath County Council website, with concerns raised about the density, impacts to the privacy of nearby homes, questions about the drainage plans and potential impacts on nearby Special Areas of Conservation all raised.

The 62 units earmarked would contain a mix of housing types, including 28 four-bedroom semi-detached houses, 6 four-bedroom terraced houses and 16 three-bedroom terraced houses.

Another six two-bedroom own-door apartments would also be provided along with a half a dozen three-bedroom own-door duplex apartments.