Nine social and affordable houses among 42-home Tipperary development
The council is positive of residential development in the area, while admitting that it is ‘lacking’ in terms of services
Details of a 42-house development on Kickahm Street and Boheravoroon street in Thurles have been published, for buildings on a site adjacent to the protected building Innisfail House and near the Aldi supermarket.
Planning is being sought by Coolross Homes Ltd for the development on a vacant field. However at this stage there are no published plans for the refurbishment of the actual Innisfail House itself, the development of which will be dealt with at a later stage.
Of the 42 houses, nine are to be transferred to the council for social and affordable housing: two three-bedroom homes, three two-bedroomed homes, and four one-bedroom apartments.
The main entrance and exit from the estate will be via the Boheravaroon road, and while the entire site is about 4.45 acres, the development will only sit on 3.61 acres of this; the remainder, where the Inisfail House stands, will be left undeveloped under these specific plans.
The report of a pre-planning meeting with the council noted this area of Thurles is well served in terms of water and wastewater capacity.
However, while it has more recently become the focus of residential development, it is “lacking in terms of the associated services (retail, healthcare, etc.)”
“It has good access to the town centre and its schools but could benefit from enhanced sustainable transport linkages.
The Council will support the delivery of a segregated active travel route from Mitchell Street to the train station travelling through this area and serving its schools”.
The report also noted the council’s intention to support more residential development in the area in the future.
The planning application does not include any plans for the Innisfail House, a protected structure, instead stating that this development will be dealt with separately under a future planning application for refurbishment and alterations, a design for which is under review.
A postbox on the site is also listed as a protected structure.
An architectural report found that the housing developments plans “retains the existing historic buildings and entrance off Kickham street unaltered” and it “is of a scale and building height that does not negatively impact on the character or setting of the protected structure”.
Trees on the site include Hawthorn, Beech, Sycamore, apple trees, and Ash. Some trees will need to be removed under the plans, including two mature Beech trees, a fact which the accompanying arboricultural noted would “result in a noticeable reduction in visual amenity and biodiversity value within the site”.