Developer tries again for massive Kildare housing plan
The Westgrove Hotel, flagship of the Westar's presence in Clane
An application to build a whopping 333 dwellings in an estimated €80m development on the eastern edge of Clane which had been previously denied by the High Court in May, has be resurrected to An Bord Pleanala.
Local firm Westar Developments are again bypassing the county council planners by bringing an Strategic Housing Development (SHD) straight to A Bord Pleanála – a 2018 device for fast-tracking development greater than 100 homes.
Westar, who own the Westgrove Hotel and, according to one local politician “have built one-third of the town”, lodged their SHD last week to build 121 houses and 212 apartments over five blocks on a 10.36Ha (26ac) site, between the Celbridge Road and the Liffey, with access expected through the Brooklands Estate. They have also planned a 76-child creche, and 575 car parking spaces.
The firm had previously made this application in February 2021, and while An Bord Pleanála granted it with conditions in April of the year, it was appealed to the High Court and quashed on 15 May this year after local residents raised over €40,000 for this action.
This was unsurprising as both the then CEO of Kildare County Council Peter Carey and the elected member all opposed it in submissions.
Mr Casey noted that under the then County Development Plan 2017-23 that Clane should only get 145 new dwellings under the lifetime of that Plan (now bumped to 219 for the present one), and that the density of 41 units per hectare was above the 25-30 recommended for a settlement like Clane.
He also noted that a section of the proposal was on land zoned “amenity and green space”, while less than half of all the apartments planned did not have a dual aspect as they should.
The councillors said it “cause further traffic congestion within the town”, while it school capacity was “poor and overcrowded”.
Noting applications in the area for another 556 dwellings in the immediate vicinity, cllr Aidan Farrelly noted that if this Westar project was greenlighted “the town’s population would rise by 25 per cent”.
A decision is expected by the end of November.
