Flooding concerns lead to housing project refusal

The applicant had applied to amend the layout of a previously approved application for 166 units in the Newbuildings area, and to reduce the number of units to 155. The site is located on land east of Primity Crescent, Primity Park and Silverbrook Park. The original planning application was approved back in 2007, while the reviewed proposals have attracted six objections as well as a petition.

At its February meeting the committee was told that Planners were recommending refusal based on requested additional information about measures to mitigate flooding on the 6.8 hectare site and a required report assessing the potential impact on widlife not having been submitted.

A planning officer said that the flooding issue has been the subject of meetings, and while the applicant had proposed a number of measures to deal with the issue, and there has been some progress on the detail of the plans, this was not sufficient to address the concerns.

Sinn Fein Colr. Christopher Jackson said it was “surprising and disappointing given the size and scale of this development that the applicant or agent hasn’t supplied the necessary information, particularly to satisfy Planners that the flooding problem that is being experienced in the area would be addressed.”

The Committee unanimously voted to refuse.