A decision from Waterford City and County Council to reject planning permission for 46 homes in the Mweelahorna area of the An Rinn Gaeltacht has been upheld by An Bord Pleanala.
Waterford City and County Council refused permission for the initial development in August 2021.
Shinebright Limited applied to build 12 four-bedroom detached homes, two four-bed semi-detached houses, 28 three-bed semis, and four two-bed elderly units.
The developer said in its submission the housing project was a 'once in a lifetime opportunity to provide affordable homes to those seeking accommodation in the Gaeltacht area.
An Bord Pleanala upheld the refusal in deliberations this week, outlining a number of reasons - having first inspected the volume of appeals and the inspector's report three weeks ago.
It was noted that the site is located within a designated Tier 4A Rural Town within the settlement hierarchy which is set out in the Waterford City and County Development Plan 2022-28.
The County Development Plan sets out that 'the scale of a proposed housing development is consistent with the number of housing units appropriate to the class/typology of the settlement'.
Rural towns such as An Rinn can support a maximum of circa. 20 houses during the lifetime of the Development Plan to comply with policies and standards set out within it.
It was ruled that the proposed development from Shinebright Limited would be contrary to the requirements, which seek to ensure that development proposals are 'compatible with the context of the site in terms of character, scale and density' and it was thus ruled that the development would be contrary to the proper planning and the sustainable development of the area.
It was also noted that the site is located within a designated Gaeltacht area. It is an objective of the Council to protect and promote the linguistic heritage of the Gaeltacht through the use of occupancy conditions restricting the sale or occupation of dwellings to those who demonstrate reasonable fluency of the Irish Language, or those who are native to the Gaeltacht.
The proposed development, by reason of its scale and suburban-style layout, and proposed site levels, would be out of character with the established pattern of development within the rural Gaeltacht area.
It was also acknowledged by An Bord Pleanala that the developer had failed to demonstrate that the proposed development would not detrimentally impact upon the linguistic integrity of the area.
An Bord Pleanala ruled that the proposed development would also be premature pending required upgrades to the upgrading of the sewer network which currently services Mweelahorna.
It was stated that the development would be prejudicial to public health and would again be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.
