Councillor pulls objection over Limerick housing after talks with developer

A LOCAL councillor will be able to see the light in his conservatory after pulling an objection to a housing development in his village.

Fianna Fail councillor for Patrickswell, Fergus Kilcoyne, had objected to plans for houses which he felt would block sunlight into the conservatory of his home of 25 years.

Developer Michael Joyce had applied to council to modify a previously granted planning application to include four more units on top of the five he initially secured permission for back in 2021 at Barnakyle in the village.

Cllr Kilcoyne, alongside his wife Josephine, was one of four parties to object to the new application.

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After council gave it conditional planning permission, the local representative appealed against this decision to An Bord Pleanala.

However, he's now confirmed to Limerick Live that following talks with the developer, he has withdrawn his appeal.

He said he was approached by the builder Mr Joyce, who agreed to make an amendment to the layout of his proposed new houses which would allow sunlight back into Cllr Kilcoyne’s conservatory.

“I am very pro-housing. I have been in talks with the developer and we have come to an agreement that he is going to put in an amendment,” he said.

To back up his support for housing, he also referenced his support to developer Denis Lane of Milfort Properties, who has been frustrated in his bid to build 60 new houses because of the dezoning of his land.

Cllr Kilcoyne confirmed his talks with Mr Joyce related to a change to the style of roofs to be built on the proposed houses close to his home.

There is still one party whose appeal against Mr Joyce’s plans to build the homes in Patrickswell remains active.

The man, who owns land nearby, has objected to a number of other developments at the Raheen Industrial Estate.

In his initial objection to local council planners, he pointed to a long running investigation into water outfall from the business park into the Loughmore Canal and Barnakyle Stream which run on his lands.

“Until the pollution is stopped and remediation works carried out, there can be no planning permissions where storm water discharges to the Barnakyle river,” he wrote.

No reference was made to the village of Patrickswell in his initial objection.

An Bord Pleanala has not set a date for a decision on the housing project.