Fianna Fáil Offaly candidate defends objecting to 102 new homes on ‘Bogtown’ site beside his house
Local authority records show Councillor Tony McCormack objected to the building of 102 dwellings at Cappancur on the Daingean Road in Tullamore, and led a petition of 30 residents against the scheme.
Mr McCormack, who is seeking to retain the Fianna Fáil seat vacated by Barry Cowen, said it was the representations of Daingean Road residents, including himself, that led to conditions being attached to the final grant of permission.
The site is currently being cleared for construction, after permission was finally given, following an appeal in August last year.
“Everyone realises that there is a housing crisis out there, and we acknowledged that at the start of our submission. We have no objection to housing, but we want our own homes to be safe,” Mr McCormack said.
“We were going to be lower than this site and we believed we were going to have our houses flooded. The site is known as Bogtown, and there is a flooding risk.
“A lot of people beside me are there 50 and 60 years, and they didn’t want their houses flooded and then the risk thereafter of losing their home insurance.”
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Offaly County Council granted outline planning permission for the development, which included a creche and open space, but Mr McCormack and the Daingean Road residents’ association then appealed to An Bord Pleanála.
An inspector visited the site, 1.5km east of Tullamore town centre, on the northern side of the Daingean Road, which runs to a roundabout on the N52 bypass. The planning authority subsequently decided to grant permission, subject to 28 conditions, “none of which significantly altered the proposed development”, but which included drainage provision. There is to be a water pumping station on the centre of the site.
Fianna Fáil headquarters was asked for comment in light of leader Micheál Martin’s repeated calls for there to be far fewer planning objections in Ireland. The Cappancur site has always been zoned residential. Fianna Fáil did not comment on the matter.
Mr Martin said earlier this month at the annual party gathering at Bodenstown, just before the election campaign started: “We took over responsibility for housing. Over the past four-and-a-half years we have implemented a relentless programme of reforms and new actions. In the face of a destructive opposition which tried to block everything, we persisted.
“The final element in unlocking the potential to build more homes has been enacted, with the most radical planning reform of our time.”
It would mean “fast and fair decisions, to prevent abuses of the system and focus on good faith objections”, he said.
Mr McCormack is one of 11 candidates chasing three seats in the restored Offaly constituency, including his party running mate Claire Murray.
Senator Pippa Hackett is contesting for the Greens, Aoife Masterson for Sinn Féin and John Clendennen for Fine Gael.
There are also candidates for Independent Ireland, People Before Profit and Aontú, along with three Independent candidates.
