County planners have refused to grant approval for a proposed housing development next to Furbo Village in Connemara.
Planning permission was sought by Noel Regan Developments for a housing estate consisting of seven detached houses on a greenfield site at Ballynahown, Furbo.
The design of the small estate had the houses arranged in a crescent shape, which the developer said would “provide passive surveillance of the public spaces” and “establish a sense of community and a feeling of security within the location”.
One of the key issues which arose in relation to this development was the developer’s intention to connect to the existing wastewater treatment plant serving an adjacent 15 home estate.
The county council gave four reasons for refusing planning permission for this development, three of which were related to its place next to Furbo, and also due to concerns about the site’s proposed wastewater treatment system.
Galway County Council said in its refusal that these lands have not been zoned for development and that the scale and layout of the proposed housing development would not reinforce and assimilate with the existing village setting of Furbo.
Based on submissions the council also said that it wasn’t satisfied that “the proposed development creates the standard of assimilation necessary for the amenities of the area”, and the prospective residents of these homes.
Finally, the county council said that the wastewater treatment system the developer wishes to connect to has “insufficient spare capacity” due to arrangements made for other pre-existing homes in the area.
