A view of the planning notice and part of the site in the background which is located to the rear of the Colm Quinn BMW garage, just off the Bullet Road.

Over 330 homes planned for Cornamaddy and Ballykeeran

Over 330 new homes are planned for a parcel of land in Cornamaddy and Ballykeeran, a small portion of which is owned by Westmeath County Council, it's been revealed.

Details of the new Large Scale Residential Development Scheme (LRD) emerged in new planning documents lodged by a company called Akiyda Ltd, seeking a ten-year planning permission for 332 residential units and a creche, on 12.28 hectares in the Cornamaddy and Ballykeeran townlands.

LRD applications replaced the previous Strategic Housing Development (SHD) process and concern proposals for more than 100 homes.

A letter of consent from Westmeath County Council is included in the planning documents giving Akiyda Ltd approval to include a small portion of council-owned land in the proposal, while a second letter of consent is included from Marina Quarter Ltd of Maynooth, who give the go-ahead to the applicant to apply for a connection point and access over lands in their ownership.

This particular letter is on Glenveagh headed paper and the contact email for the Kildare company is enquiries@glenveagh.ie. Glenveagh is one of the country's largest home builders, and Marina Quarter Ltd had an application for a 75-home housing scheme and a link road granted planning approval last October which would be used to access Akiyda's site.

Should the new housing plan be successful, Akiyda Ltd is proposing to construct the residential scheme in three particular phases, the first of which covers 152 units that would be complete by 2027. Phase two, another 148 homes would be due to be finished by 2029, and phase three, just 32 houses, is pencilled in for completion in 2032.

Access to the proposed residential development is via the existing roundabout onto the N55 Ballymahon Road and the planning documents indicates that immediately adjacent to the site boundary is the BMW site and other residential developments.

Maps show it is positioned on land to the rear of the garage, just off what’s known as Bullet Road.

According to the plans submitted to Westmeath County Council on March 28 last, a total of 172 units in what is described as Ballykeeran Gardens in the planning report would be two-storey dwellings, 152 of which would be three bed units and 20 four bed units. Another 160 apartments/duplex units would consist of 36 one bed units, 99 two bed units 25 three bed homes.

The apartment blocks would range in height from two storey to four storeys and the duplex blocks from two storey to three storeys high.

In addition there would be a two-storey creche building, and an associated plaza which would create a neighbourhood centre, according to the applicant, while 413 parking spaces, 225 bike spaces, electric car charging points and bicycle/bin storage on-site would also be provided in the project..

The provision of a new link road via adjacent lands (Marina Quarter) to the west to provide for vehicular, pedestrian and cyclist access is also mentioned in the plans, as the creation of a pedestrian footpath alongside the local road which will connect to the existing footpath aligning the N55.

Open space areas and pocket parks would be provided throughout the site, with formal play areas, tree lined avenues, public lighting, boundary walls, railings, fencing and two ESB substations.

An Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) and a Natura Impact Statement (NIS) have been prepared in relation to the proposed development, along with a huge plethora of other reports lodged in support of the project.

Westmeath County Council is due to announce a decision on May 1 next.