Six-storey apartment plan gets green light

A six-storey apartment building on the Proudstown Road in Navan has been given the green light by An Bord Pleanala despite local objections from residents who fear their homes will be overshadowed.

The proposed apartment development in Beaufort Place is located at the junction of the Proudstown Road and the Beaufort Road, just off the roundabout at the top of Flower Hill.

The proposal by Heron Bell Ltd includes 54 apartments in three apartment blocks stepped in height from three to six storeys on a 0.5 hectares site with access proposed from Beaufort Place.

Residents living in the vicinity were strongly opposed to the development due to the proposed height and say the apartments are totally out of keeping with the area. They also raised concerns about the increased traffic the development would bring when traffic congestion is already a major issue in that part of town at peak times.

However, An Bord Pleanala has found the proposal to be acceptable and decided to uphold the granting of planning permission after considering the appeal.

In its determination the board ruled that "the proposed development would constitute an acceptable residential density in this suburban location, would not seriously injure the residential or visual amenities of the area or of properties in the vicinity, would respect the existing character of the area, would not constitute a flood hazard and would be acceptable in terms of pedestrian and traffic safety" and would, therefore, "be in accordance with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area".

Planning permission was previously granted in 2017 to JA Mannion Construction for 21 two-storey houses and 26 apartments ranging in height from two to five storeys on the site. This decision was appealed to Bord Pleanala at the time who upheld the granting of permission but reduced the number of apartments from 26 to 24.

Heron Bell Ltd then applied for planning permission in January 2021 for three three-storey apartment blocks to provide 24 one-bedroom and 30 two-bedroom apartments.

Further information was sought from Meath County Council and revised plans were submitted which increased the height of parts of the development by up to three-storeys.

Three local residents lodged appeals against the granting of planning permission including Mark Keenan, proprietor of the Round O, located across the road from the site who fears the apartment building would block light coming into the property. He also felt it is totally out of keeping with the architecture of Flower Hill.

Reacting to news that the development was given the go ahead, Mark said they were disappointed and he had at least hoped that a storey or two would be taken off the building following the appeal.

"We are disappointed. We were hoping for a different outcome. I thought they would at least take a storey or two off it. The ones across the road are fine but this will be much higher. A big building like that will be an eye-sore at the top of Flower Hill."

He added: "Flower Hill will be all apartments by the looks of it with ones going in at Flower Hill Lodge and beside Maxol as well."

Mark went on to refer to a report on Flower Hill for Meath County Council which was critical of the apartment buildings at the southern end of Flower Hill stating that they had failed to add positively to the area and had "instead set the context for social issues, increased crime rates and a poorly perceived sense of safety". Yet Mark said they were now going to end up with the same thing again with high rise apartments at the top of Flower Hill as well.