Claim that Offaly bungalows will be 'dwarfed' by four-storey apartment blocks
A PLAN for 148 houses and apartments in Tullamore is being opposed by nearby residents concerned about its scale and impact on traffic.
In particular, a proposal for two four-storey apartment blocks at Wellwood Housing is causing much concern among the residents of bungalows in Arden Vale.
John Flanagan Developments is seeking permission to build 90 houses and 58 apartments on a site off Tyrrells/Tinnycross Road in Puttaghaun, close to the location of the proposed private hospital.
Thirty-eight of the apartments will be “age friendly assisted living units”, 28 of which will be two-bed apartments with 10 one-beds.
The apartments are to be located at the end of the site closest to Arden Vale, a large residential estate which stretches to Arden Road.
In a submission to the council, one bungalow dweller said his house will be “dwarfed”, another described the apartment blocks as an “overbearing structure” and a letter from Arden Vale Residents Association said they will be “significantly out of scale”.
One resident said his family had enjoyed privacy for 50 years and the proposed apartments will be 60 metres from his house.
“They will be 13 metres high and thus the view from the rear of my house will be completely changed and our sight lines will be altered,” he said.
The same resident made the point that when John Flanagan Developments was building an estate in a different area of the town, Carraig Cluain, it erected bungalows where the new development was backing on to existing bungalows in Knockowen Road.
While traffic access to Wellwood Housing will be off Tyrrells Road where the former Glenwood factory still stands, Davitt Street Residents Association expressed concerns about traffic volumes and predicted that “243 or more cars” will be added to the traffic network in Davitt Street and Callery Street.
The residents said Davitt Street is “nominally a two-way street but is heavily constrained by on-street parking”, especially on match days.
The residents fear a “hazardous situation” and said there were collisions in 2021 and 2022 on the street.
A traffic impact study carried out by consultants for John Flanagan Developments concluded that there will be no adverse traffic issues that would prevent a “positive determination” of the planning application by the council. The study said Davitt Street is “very lightly trafficked”.
The residents of Arden Vale were also concerned about access to a sewage pumping station which John Flanagan Developments insist will be temporary.
In the application, which is due to be ruled on by Offaly County Council by July 10, John Flanagan Developments say they engaged with the public in Tinnycross, Harbour Walk, Harbour Drive, Thornsbury Estate, Park Avenue and Arden Vale, including members of residents' associations.
The developers said: “The main views resulting from our engagements were that they existing housing schemes surrounding Wellwood Housing were long established and settled residential areas and all had a concern about potential vehicular and pedestrian through access.”
They added: “We have taken these concerns very seriously and have considered them in conjunction with our design team, we believe we have now amended our design as much as we can at this stage, specifically elements which are within our control.”
They said there is “no intention that the entrance to the pump station will give public access to Wellwood”.
They said there will be no pedestrian access connection to the new scheme from either Harbour Drive or Harbour Walk but there will be a “pedestrian way” next to the Harbour Drive green area.
In relation to concerns raised by people in Thornsbury Estate and Park Avenue they said: “We confirmed there will be a pedestrian access only at the junction of Thornsbury and Park Avenue with no vehicular access provided.”
The developers added that all groups and individuals they met or who contacted them were supportive in principle.