A PLANNED neighbourhood centre on the outskirts of Sligo town, comprising 324 houses and apartments, a creche, a supermarket, and nine retail units has been turned down by An Bord Pleanála.
Last June, Sligo County Council granted approval for the development on a five-hectare site, with views of Ben Bulben, at the junction of the N15 Sligo/Donegal road and the old Bundoran road.
It had been anticipated that the project, the biggest private residential and retail development ever to be granted planning permission by the council,could have facilitated a population of more than 1,000.
It incorporated 558 car-parking spaces and a medical centre and would have involved the demolition of four houses.
The board upheld an appeal by local resident Martin Doonan of Old Bundoran Road, Sligo, against the council’s decision to grant permission to two Galway companies, Cordil Construction and Knocknacarra Investments, for the development.
Mr Doonan maintained that the project would endanger the safety of his family because of traffic hazard.
The board found the proposed development three kilometres from the centre of Sligo would be premature pending the realignment of the N15and it would endanger public safety by reason of traffic hazard.
It also ruled that a large-scale development rising to six storeys in an existing rural area would be premature in this location, that it would constitute over-development and would be visually discordant in a rural setting on an elevated site above Sligo town.
