Go ahead given for 205 new homes at Lisdoo in Dundalk

Louth County Council has given the go ahead for a Large-scale Residential Development (LRD) at Lisdoo in Dundalk that will see 205 new homes constructed.

FJ Developments Ltd applied to Louth County Council in June for planning permission for the development on lands at Lisdoo Townland in Dundalk, which comprises a mix of houses and apartments, along with a creche. Ahead of construction of the housing, the applicant is planning site excavation works to facilitate the proposed development, which would include infilling and raising of existing ground levels via importing inert material.

The planned housing comprises 78 houses consisting of 66 three bed, semi-detached; eight four bed, semi-detached; and four four-bed detached houses. It also comprises 127 apartment/duplex units consisting of ten one-bed units; 113 two-bed units; and four three-bed units across six buildings which will range in height from two storeys to five storeys.

As well as a creche, the planning application also provides for car parking via a combination of in-curtilage parking for dwellings and via on-street parking for the creche, duplexes and apartment units, along with provision of electric vehicle charge points with associated site infrastructure ducting to provide charge points for residents throughout the site.

It also provides for items including the creation of a new access point for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists from Newry Road to incorporate junction upgrade works; provision of a pedestrian and cyclist access from Forkhill Road; and provision of internal access roads and footpaths and associated works.

A number of submissions objecting to the development had been lodged with the council. Reasons for objecting to the development included fears over potential flooding; pedestrian access; loss of natural lighting; traffic concerns; the removal of large mature trees to facilitate the development; and fears over loss of biodiversity. Louth County Council granted conditional planning permission for the development on 1 August.

LRDs replace the previous Strategic Housing Development (SHD) process where applications went to An Bord Pleanála for determination. The LRD process is as follows: An LRD Meeting Request is made with the local planning authority as part of the process when seeking planning permission for an LRD. Following the receipt of LRD consultation request, the planning authority is required to facilitate a consultation meeting with the applicant within four weeks of the date receipt of such a request.

Following the LRD Meeting, there is a period of four weeks for the planning authority to issue an LRD opinion on whether the proposals constitute a reasonable basis for submitting a planning application on the LRD proposals. This LRD opinion is valid for six months.

A planning application must then be submitted within six months of receipt of an LRD opinion. The developer must make the application documentation available for public viewing on a dedicated website set up for this purpose. The website for this particular development can be found here.