Plans progress for 102 homes in Rosshill, Galway City

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Galway daily news

An Bord Pleanála has given a developer the go ahead to bring a Strategic Housing Development application for 102 homes in Galway City.

Alber Developments intends to seek planning permission for a housing development on lands at Rosshill Galway City, south of the Old Dublin Road.

The housing estate would consist of 67 houses and 35 apartments, along with a crèche and associated site works.

In February the developer lodged a consultation with the board and city council to determine if the proposal was a suitable basis for an SHD.

In a decision on April 19, the board ruled that the project was suitable to be considered as a Strategic Housing Development.

This allows for planning applications housing projects over a certain size to be made directly to An Bord Pleanála, bypassing the local council, in order to fast-track large scale housing projects.

The Strategic Housing Development mechanism was introduced in 2017 as a method of helping to address the housing crisis.

But while it has been defended for supposedly allowing housing projects to move faster, it has also been criticised for reducing public involvement and consultation in the planning process, particularly when large scale projects are most likely to impact on communities.

There have also been an increasing number of SHDs which have been the subject of a judicial review in recent years, which arguably undermines the point that they are supposed to reduce the length of the planning process.

Developer Bernard Duffy’ Alber Developments previously had plans for 342 homes in Rosshill rejected by An Bord Pleanala after strong local opposition.

The next stage of this smaller scale housing development will be for a full application to be made directly to the board.