Planning permission has been refused for a residential development of 62 homes meant for older people in Gort.
An Bord Pleanála has ruled against an appeal by Mount Fuji Ltd regarding plans for an older people’s housing estate at Lavally, Gort.
The plans were for the demolition of a vacant building on a 1.17ha site between Station Road and Gort River Walk.
The new estate would have comprised 52 apartments and 10 houses, along with a tea room, in a development specifically aimed at older people.
The estate plans included 34 car parking spaces, as well as 59 bicycle spaces.
The county council refused planning permission for the development in March of 2022, which Mount Fuji appealed to An Bord Pleanála.
The bord agreed with the county council’s original decision to refuse planning for the development, rejecting their own inspector’s recommendation to give it the green light.
In refusing planning permission, the board raised a number of concerns about the design of the estate, the public open space and car parking in particular.
The decision said that the estate’s relationship with the river walk and “lack of animation” of the street integrated poorly, and that the communal open space lacked amenity.
The board also stated that there was not sufficient car parking included in the plans, and that the layout of the car parking which was there would create a traffic hazard.
The plans also lack clarity on the extent and design of works to be carried out on Station Road, and it was unclear if existing sewerage infrastructure could serve the new estate.
