Leitrim housing plan blocked by board

A proposed housing development on one of the main approaches to the Leitrim Walking Way has been blocked by An Bord Pleanála.

The board found that the 32 two-storey semi-detached dwellings outside Dowra would detract from the rural character of the area because of its prominent location on one of the main approaches to the Co Leitrim village and to the 48km walk.

The board also said that the development at Cornageeha, Kilmore, Dowra, would exacerbate the risk of flooding and contravene the Leitrim County Development Plan, which permits development on a flood plain only in exceptional circumstances.

Dowra, which is on the Leitrim/Cavan border and has a population of 100, is situated close to the source of the Shannon. The Cavan/Leitrim Environmental Awareness Network (Clean), which has an address at Kilmore, had appealed the decision of Leitrim council on August 22nd last to grant permission for the development, subject to 19 conditions, to Frankie Maguire, c/o Hughes Rowan and Associates, O'Connell Street, Limerick.

Clean said that the proposed development would destroy the distinctive character of Dowra and was premature pending the preparation of a development plan, as recommended by the Waterways Corridor Study, 2005. It also pointed out that there was a flood plain on the site. Clean argued that the development posed an unacceptable pollution threat to the Shannon, which is a recognised European protected habitat.

An Taisce said that the development would be incompatible with the principles of sustainable development by introducing suburban-type housing into a rural village in excess of identified local need. It said that, as a flood plain, the site was unsuitable, and it suggested that adequacy of the sewerage system needed to be established.