37 new houses in north Louth refused planning
Lack of adequate capacity at Blackrock Wastewater Treatment Plant highlighted
An Bord Pleanála has upheld the decision by Louth County Council to refuse planning permission for a development of 37 new homes at Old Golf Links Road, Haggardstown, Dundalk.
Andrews Construction Ltd applied to Louth County Council in May 2023 for planning permission for the development on a site of circa 1.68 hectares at Old Golf Links Road, Haggardstown, Dundalk.
The proposed development comprised the demolition of an existing single storey dwelling and associated outbuildings and the construction of 37 two storey residential units. The planned housing units comprised one three-bed cottage, 32 three-bed houses and four four-bed houses.
The planning application also provided for the formation of 4,067 sqm of landscaped open space areas; 69 in-curtilage car parking spaces and ten visitor parking spaces.
Louth County Council refused planning permission in December 2023. It said in its decision that the proposed development provides for the provision of a service road and parking spaces on a portion of lands zoned 'H1 Open Space' as identified in the Louth County Council Development Plan, that such uses are considered ancillary to residential development that is not considered open for consideration on H1 zoned lands, and that the proposed development would materially contravene the zoning objective and would therefore be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.
The decision was appealed to An Bord Pleanála in January 2024. An Bord Pleanála made the decision to refuse planning permission on 3 July, highlighting the capacity at Blackrock Wastewater Treatment Plant to accept wastewater
from the facility in its decision.
An Bord Pleanála said that, "Having regard to the nature and scale of the proposed development and the lack of adequate capacity at Blackrock Wastewater Treatment Plant to accept wastewater from the facility it is considered that the proposed development would not be in accordance with Objective IU6 of the Louth County Development Plan 2021-2027 and Objective INF4 of the Dundalk Local Area Plan 2025-2029 which require that all new developments connect to the public supply where public water and wastewater infrastructure is available or likely to be available and which has sufficient capacity.
"The proposed development would therefore be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area. The Commission further considered that the provision of a private on-site wastewater treatment plant as proposed by the applicant in the submission received by An CoimisiOn Pleanala on the 28th day of March 2025 would constitute a material change to the proposal which would require a new planning application."