Tipperary councillors approve planning permission for 45 new social homes in Cahir

An estate of 45 new social homes for Cahir was approved planning permission at Tipperary County Council’s monthly meeting on Monday.

The Council’s elected members unanimously approved the Part 8 planning application for the mixed of apartments and houses at Tullaghnabane, Mountain View Drive, Lissava, Cahir at the meeting in the Council’s Civic Offices in Nenagh.

The proposed development will comprise 19 three bedroom houses, 11 two bedroom houses, six four bedroom houses and one five bedroom house. All these residences will be two-storey in height.

It’s also proposed to build six one-bedroom apartments built in three two-storey blocks.

Independent Cllr Máirín McGrath proposed the planning application’s approval and said it was great to see the project reach this stage as it had been a long process over the last number of years.

She noted there was significant engagement between the council and local residents in relation to the project and thanked Liam Ryan and Jonathan Cooney of the Council’s Housing Section for their public consultation work.

Independent Cllr Andy Moloney asked if the council could tweak its plan to include cycle lanes in the estate’s roads.

He argued they were supposed to be going down the route of reducing people’s carbon footprint but he wasn’t seeing this in the plans for this estate.

Council Senior Executive Engineer Robert Johnson confirmed the design didn’t include cycle lanes and Cllr Moloney asked if it could be altered to include them. He said if the council was serious about tackling climate change it should include cycle lanes in all its new estates.

Fine Gael Cllr Marie Murphy said she understood Cllr Moloney’s point but she believed they should “just drive on” and approve the planning application if changing the plan was going to significantly delay the project.

Fine Gael Cllr Phyll Bugler supported Cllr Moloney’s request while Fianna Fáil Cllr Micheál Anglim agreed cycle lanes should be facilitated where it was possible. But Workers & Unemployment Action Group Cllr Pat English and Cllr McGrath echoed Cllr Murphy’s concern about delaying the project

Cllr McGrath pointed out they were waiting two years to get the housing scheme to this stage and the time to make any changes to the plans was during the public engagement phase.

“We need to move on. If we push it back again it will be this time next year before we move on with the project,” she said.

Mr Johnston acknowledged cycle lanes should be considered in any housing scheme going forward but the topography and nature of the site of this housing project meant that any alterations to the road will have a significant impact on the scheme.

“Any changes to the road width will take a considerable time and would set it back by a considerable time frame,” he advised.

On hearing this, Cllr Moloney stressed he wasn’t in favour of holding up the project in any way and only wanted the incorporation of cycle lanes within the current road in the estate. He then seconded the proposal to approve the planning application.

But he said the Council needed to start “smartening up” in terms of including cycle lanes into new projects