Offaly Hospice reiterates call for planning refusal for Arden Lane hospice project
Offaly Hospice Foundation has again urged Offaly County Council to refuse planning permission for the construction of the new Midlands Regional Hospice on a site at Arden Lane in Tullamore.
The call was made in a submission made to the local authority by O'Neill Town Planning on behalf of Offaly Hospice Foundation, c/o Professor Humphrey O'Connor, in response to further information provided to the council to the HSE on their plans for the long-awaited facility.
The submission also argues that the additional information supplied by council planners to the HSE is “materially different” to what was proposed in the original planning application and, as such “a revised planning application would surely be the best way to deal with same."
The submission states that the planning application has been materially changed due to, among other items “the revision of the boundaries to the application site” to allow for the omission of the road widening scheme proposed and the omission of footpaths on the access road to the hospice
While welcoming the fact that the council declared the additional information submitted by the HSE in September as being “significant” Offaly Hospice Foundation said in their latest submission that an issue “of particular importance” is the fact that land “not in the ownership of the applicants nor with the expressed wishes of the owners of lands” has been included in the lands “over which the applicants said they have the necessary legal interest to make an application".
The Offaly Hospice submission also takes issue with the matrix score and site selection process used to determine the most suitable site for the Midlands Hospice, and points out that the Arden Lane site is “not the only site available in Tullamore” for the regional hospice. It also and points out that “expert assessment” of the Matrix revels “significant issues in both adjudication and scoring process.”
The submission contends that, if Offaly Hospice plans for Site 1 on the grounds of Tullamore Hospital had received consent to build and planning permission, “in all likelihood the Midlands Regional Hospice would effectively be built by now.” The HSE offered Site 1 in October 2020, and detailed architect plans for the facility were “put forward, and paid for by Offaly Hospice" and were deemed “feasible and acceptable by all parties” in October 2021, according to the submission.
In their first submission on the hospice project, Offaly Hospice Foundation stated that their “preferred location” for the siting on the Midlands Regional Hospice is in the Wellwood Health Park. They conclude their latest submission by stating that the two alternative sites of Wellwood Health Park and a site on the grounds of the Midlands Regional Hospital in Tullamore “are “still available” and point out that both sites are "not encumbered by planning issues of zoning, access or services.”
Offaly Hospice concluded by stating that there was nothing new in the additional information provided that should delay the planning authority refusing planning permission for the proposed development "on the grounds set out in our original observation".
A further submission on behalf of Condron Concrete states that nothing in the HSE response addresses “in any meaningful way” the concerns expressed by the company in its original submission. They reiterated that the selection of the Arden Lane site for “a sensitive healthcare use” on land that is not zoned for such use, and is surrounded by facilities that have the potential to affect the operation of both uses represents “a haphazard and piecemeal approach” to planning.
Tom Martin from Arden Vale also submitted a detailed submission, which stated at the outset that the need for a dedicated Midlands Hospice is “undeniable” and declaring that he is “fully supportive” of the project.
However, he said it was “with regret” that he must request Offaly County Council to refuse planning permission on five grounds; that it was procedurally invalid; infrastructurally undeliverable; zoned incorrectly; compromises existing community facilities; places undue burden on the taxpayer and fails national and local planning policy tests.
He added that such refusal “would not hinder the delivery of a hospice” but would ensure it is delivered “properly, lawfully and sustainably, in the right location, with infrastructure and community support from the outset.”
A decision on the planning application for the proposed Midlands Regional Hospice is due by Tuesday of next week, November 11.