Appeal lodged against 32 Apex Housing Association properties in Convoy
An Coimisíun Pleanála receives appeal against Donegal County Council decision to grant Convoy proposal planning permission
An appeal has been lodged to An Coimisíun Pleanála against Donegal County Council’s planning approval for the construction of 32 residential dwellings in Convoy.
The lodged appeal was submitted after Apex Housing Association successfully obtained permission for the proposals, which included a mixture of two-bed and three-bed houses located at Convoy Townparks.
Based in Letterkenny, Apex Housing Association is a not-for-profit housing association led by a voluntary Board of Management, and provides over 200 units of accommodation across Donegal.
As part of the application, a planning report written on behalf of Apex Housing Association stated: “The proposed development has been carefully designed to achieve a balance between protecting existing residential amenity and providing a high-quality residential development within the settlement boundary of Convoy, which is in keeping with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.”
However, an appellant, with a listed address near Carndonagh, has listed several reasons against the approved Convoy proposals, including road safety, water connection supply limitations, inadequate healthcare options, and public concerns, stating that there were “too many ‘red flags.’”
Regarding road safety, it was stated that the junction that will serve the 32 planned properties was directly opposite St Brigid’s National School and that a previous population increase within the Townparks area “resulted in a further noticeable increase in the number of vehicle and pedestrian movements - the dangers of the junction increased yet further,” and that “the granting of the planning permission will now add thousands of extra vehicle movements via this junction during the several-year construction phase.”
The “quite narrow” width of Main Street in Convoy was also used as an argument in the appeal.
When discussing water supply, it was written: “There is at present a lack of reliable and consistent drinking water supply for current residents in Convoy.
“This will be getting worse.
“This development will greatly exacerbate an already precarious water supply situation.
“If approval is confirmed for this development, there is also a high probability that other locations in the MD area will not get planning approval for housing, despite being in way more need of housing than Convoy, due to the precarious lack of water.”
It was stated there was a small GP clinic in Convoy, and that patients who will be unable an appointment in Convoy, or not having transport options to get to Stranorlar, would “regularly dial 999 to access healthcare via the National Ambulance Service, which is under severe pressure - at times an emergency ambulance may have to come from far away to attend in Convoy; eg from Killybegs, Ballyshannon, Dungloe, and Sligo.”
The patient, the document said, “will then be taken onward to Letterkenny University Hospital Emergency Department, which is also under severe pressure.”
Finally, it was stated that members of the public had “been raising issues and sharing deep concerns about over-development in Convoy for a number of years,” and that there were six objections to the planning application.