Residents launch High Court bid to get Limerick apartment plan overturned
An Bord Pleanala approved housing plan despite objections
NORTHSIDE residents opposed to an apartment development on the riverside have sought to have permission for the project overturned in the High Court.
As part of a joint venture with housing provider Cluid, Tinwat Holdings is seeking to build 46 apartments on a green space at New Road in Thomondgate.
Some of the homes are earmarked for elderly people, with others lined up to be both social and affordable.
Seven groups and locals contacted the council in opposition to the plan, expressing concerns around the impact to the environment, the impediment of the view from their homes and other matters.
But local planners approved the project, sparking an appeal from residents to An Bord Pleanala.
After the national planning appeals body green-lit the development earlier this summer, locals have now sought the intervention of the High Court.
A number of community groups, environmental groups and residents have been granted leave by High Court Judge Justice David Holland to take what is known as a judicial review.
This is a mechanism where an application can be made to challenge the decision-making processes of administrative bodies like An Bord Pleanala.
The challenge is being led by Pat Murphy, the chair of the Thomondgate Park Project, who has campaigned for many years for a biodiversity park at the development site.
Other parties in the proceedings are the St Munchin’s Umbrella Group, which includes several community and residents groups in the area.
Solicitor Michelle Hayes, who practices at Glentworth Street in the city centre, is acting for the residents.
In a statement, she alleged the development is on a flood plain which is prone to flooding, and infested with Japanese knotweed.
“Past attempts to eradicate Japanese knotweed from the site have failed, yet it is proposed to build residential accommodation in this heavily infested site in a highly vulnerable flood zone,” Ms Hayes stated.
“It is not an appropriate site for development,” she added.
The solicitor said locals have been “very resilient” and “have empowered themselves to stand up and challenge the decision by An Bord Pleanala to grant this.”
“They are dissatisfied at how the council has disregarded the residents’ concerns and failed to consult with them prior to granting planning permission. The development is completely unsustainable at this location,” she said.
Ms Hayes said there are a number of other parts of the northside where housing could be developed.
She namechecked Pineview Gardens in Moyross, saying that it’s on higher ground, and “much more suitable for residential development”.
“Communities in these areas are crying out for residential development but their pleas are being ignored,” she said.
An Bord Pleanala approved the plans - but ordered the completion of a nearby nature park before residents move in.