National planning authority block large housing development in county Kilkenny village

Plans for a large development of family homes in county Kilkenny village are dead in the water after An Bord Pleanála decided to uphold the local authority’s decision to deny the application.

In June 2020, Kilkenny County Council made the decision not to give the go-ahead to developer John Staunton’s plans to build 42 homes at Whitehall in Paulstown.

Mr Staunton then appealed this decision to An Bord Pleanála hoping to have it overturned. Already there are 35 residential units at Whitehall built under phase one of the development.

In initially refusing planning permission, Kilkenny planners had some concerns over the plans for phase two and reverted to Mr Staunton in October 2019 requesting more details on 16 aspects of the development.

These included drainage and sewerage plans, access and construction access, open spaces, the layout of the development, the impact on privacy of existing residential units, the provision of a crèche and ability for the National School to accommodate the expected extra children due to the development.

The developer responded to the council’s request in May 2020 but after going through Mr Staunton’s response, the council felt they could not grant permission for the development.

In making their decision, An Bord Pleanála agreed with some of the concerns of the council and believed the application was “premature” and said: “The Board is not satisfied that the proposed development can be served by the existing public water supply, or that the proposed temporary on-site water supply would not have negative impacts on existing public water supply sources in the vicinity of the site, or that the proposed solution and associated level of infrastructural works and investment is proportionate to the scale of development proposed.

“The proposed development would, therefore, be premature pending the upgrading of the public water supply in the vicinity of the site and the timeline within which this constraint may reasonably be expected to cease, would be prejudicial to public health, and would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area,” the decision concluded.

Mr Staunton had hoped to build 24 three-bed homes, nine four-bed homes, two three-bed apartments, one two-bed apartment and six one-bed apartments as the second phase of the development at Whitehall.