Tipperary Info - Lough Derg villages set for housing boom

By Peter Gleeson
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A huge demand for homes close to Lough Derg is set to cause a population explosion in several North Tipperary villages if a number of ambitious property developments are endorsed by council planners.

As proposals to build a scheme of 80 dwellings in Portroe were made public this week, it emerged that several other villages around the lakeside are also set to expand significantly as increasing numbers of home seekers signal their desire to live close to the wonderful amenities that the lake has to offer.

Populations of villages such as Portroe, Newtown, Ballycommon, Garrykennedy, Terryglass and Puckane all look set to grow substantially because of lands re-zoned for housing development.

The demand for homes close to the lake was underlined this week when a company called Garrykennedy Homes Partnership announced that it plans to build the scheme of 80 dwellings in Portroe.

This follows last week's revelations in this newspaper of major expansion plans for the already booming village of Newtown. The village, which has seen over 70 new houses built in recent years, is now set to get yet another 55 new homes if council planners endorse plans by developers, Pallasderg Properties.

The trend is the same in Ballycommon where Pallasderg Properties has already been granted permission to build 18 houses while a company called Dualla Developments has announced this week that it is submitting further information on its plans to build a cluster of 17 dwellings in Ballycommon.

Meanwhile, in Terryglass plans were announced earlier this year to develop a whole new village on a site on the edge of the existing village. Two companies Gladesdale Ltd and Castle Court Developments have applied to build 58 houses/apartments, a swimming pool, health centre, marina, fishing clubhouse, creche, art gallery and tennis courts.

Garrykennedy and Puckane also look set for expansion as large areas of land have been re-zoned for housing in these villages in the County Development Plan.

The trend towards building large numbers of 'one-off' houses in the scenic lake district prompted North Tipperary County Council to publish a special development plan for the area earlier this year. This document, known as the Western Area Development Plan, was aimed at stemming the rapid growth of 'one-off' houses in parishes close to the lake and instead ensure the preservation of the lake district for enjoyment of present and future generations.

The plan was drafted after the dire consequences of bad planning in Ballina saw a major explosion of housing development without the attendant community facilities and other vital infrastructural works to cater for the village's huge hike in population over the past decade and a half.

Changes in planning policy since then has put more of an onus on developers to pay for or provide vital infrastructure or community facilities in areas where they intend to build.

When contacted by The Guardian this week, the architectural and engineer firm behind the plans to build 80 new dwellings on a site at Garrykennedy Road, Portroe, indicated that the developers were willing to part fund an upgrade of the Portroe sewage works.

Martin Walsh, the Managing Director of Roscrea-based PAE Consultants, which are acting as agents for the firm behind the scheme, Garrykennedy Homes Partnership, said they would be meeting council planners this Friday to elaborate on their plans for Portroe.

Mr Walsh said the planning application for the ambitious scheme was due to be submitted in about two weeks. Among issues to be discussed would be the funding of an upgraded waste treatment plant for the village as the current system is under pressure to cope with present volumes of sewage.

The facility is badly needed as the plant outflows into the Youghalarra River, a tributary of Lough Derg and a valued spawning waterway for trout and salmon. Local anglers have expressed serious concern about the future of fish stocks in the river after detecting odours of raw sewage directly downstream of the village treatment plant.

Mr Walsh explained that his clients would be willing to enter talks with another developer, David Clarke, about a joint arrangement for upgrading the plant. Mr Clarke plans to build a separate scheme of 51 houses at Clonegowney. If the two schemes get the go-ahead from planners it will mean a total of an extra 131 houses in Portroe.

Mr Walsh said his clients were also looking at ways of enhancing the streetscape of the Garrykennedy Road by providing public lighting and a pedestrian access to the village. Attached to the planning application for the houses is permission to carry out community enhancement initiatives. These include upgrading of the existing carpark outside the GAA Centre and the development of a 'committee room' and a creche.

Also up for discussion with the council will be the proposed provision of 20 social and affordable houses in the village. Mr Walsh said a traditional design had been used in the drawing up of its overall housing plan. The 80 dwellings were aimed principally at the first time buyers market. He said people wanted to live near the lake, but many could not afford the prices of existing 'one-off' houses in the lake district