Apartments are ‘viewed as negative’ in County Limerick town

AN BORD Pleanála is set to rule on whether 40 new homes in Abbeyfeale can go ahead.
HRP Construction has secured council planning permission to construct the new housing development at St Ita’s Road in the town.
The developer is seeking to construct 20 houses and 20 apartments, with all buildings two-storey.
Ten one-bedroomed first-floor apartments are planned, with 10 one-bedroomed apartments on the ground floor.
The remaining 20 homes are designated as being two bedroomed. Some 54 car parking spaces are planned.
There have been several bids to build on the land, on the western side of the town in recent years.

READ MORE: Funding boost of over €5m to support independent living for elderly in Limerick
In 2021, HRP Construction sought permission for 44 homes and 24 apartments, which was granted the following year.
This was appealed to An Bord Pleanála which subsequently gave the go-ahead.
Now the same developer is back a second time, seeking permission for a smaller-scale development in St Ita’s Street.
Agents for the developer have stated these changes come as a result of “changing market conditions” and “observed changes to housing needs within the area.”
They have written that the designs of the homes have “responded sensitively to the site and surrounds whilst meeting all planning and development management standards.”
Despite seven people writing to council with concerns over the development, planners green-lit the plans at the start of April.
Following this, a Concerned Residents Group, based in Abbeyfeale, has asked the national planning appeals body to take a second look.
The residents say they are “not opposed to development in principle”.
But they added there are “some fundamental issues” they consider important.
They say the section of St Ita’s Road, where the homes are planned for has become “a hazardous obstacle course” with all-day parking “a daily occurrence”.
The residents have claimed there is both “anecdotal” and “hard evidence” to show that apartments are “viewed with negativity” in Abbeyfeale. They have pointed to evidence from the Property Price Register showing apartments have not met their initial asking prices. An Bord Pleanála has not provided a decision date as of yet.