Call to get more homes and mixed tenure into west Mayo housing scheme

A 50-unit social housing development in Westport should be re-examined to get more homes, and a mix of tenures, onto the site.

In proposing the scheme on the Golf Course Road be amended, Councillor Peter Flynn pointed out how An Bord Pleanála had recently refused planning for a development in Carrowbaun where low density was one of the issues raised.

The council's scheme was prime development land and they needed to put as many houses onto it as possible, and a mix of social and affordable properties, he said.

An Bord Pleanála’s inspector, in relation to 46 houses proposed at Carrowbaun, said that guidelines require the greatest efficiency in land usage for outer suburban/greenfield sites to be achieved by providing nett residential densities in the general range of 35-50 dwellings per hectare (involving a variety of house types where possible).

On the Golf Course Road, densities were considerably lower than that, with a marked absence of a variety of house types, said Councillor Flynn.

In a motion, he called on the council to 'desist from this act of urban vandalism and reconfigure the development to provide for a mix of social and affordable units of mixed size and tenure to maximise the land use and create a balanced sustainable community in accordance with the letter and the spirit of the Sustainable Residential Guidelines as reiterated by An Bord Pleanála'.

The matter was raised at a municipal district meeting where Councillor Christy Hyland said he felt they had to go back to the drawing board.

The cathaoirleach, Councillor Brendan Mulroy, said the difficulty is they could lose the funding they have for the scheme already approved.

He respected the proposal but they didn't know if an affordable scheme was available to them. He feared they could be setting people up for a fall.

He appreciated where his colleague was going but it was high risk.

Councillor Flynn said An Bord Pleanála were saying they should get more houses onto the lands and more of a mix. He suggested they not do anything more with the scheme already approved until they met with the department to see what can be done to get more homes and a better mix. There should be at least 80 or 90 houses on the site.

Councillor Mulroy felt the way to proceed was not to stop the part 8 for the 50 houses already approved but to seek a meeting with the department as soon as possible.