10-storey proposal for Station Road fails
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
IRATE residents cheered and applauded at the failure of a proposed 10-storey office and retail park at Station Road to reach a majority vote at Monday's City Council meeting.
St Francis Terrace resident Dermot Dunning says his home and his lifestyle would be affected by the erection of the development planned by developers Kelly & O'Sullivan.
“I'm right in the face of it, on Station Road," he said prior to the vote. "It's an open sewer with excrement flowing through. They'd have to pipe, drain and clean."
Close to 30 residents from St Francis Terrace and surrounding areas showed up to express their anger at the planning application. The development is a mixed use/commercial enterprise. However residents argue local services like roads and sewer can't support such a high scale proposal.
Proponent Kevin "Boxer" Moran who proposed the council go ahead with rezoning the area to enable the high-rise said the recessionary times would gain by the jobs the project would provide.
“Two years into a recession it's the only ship I see in town," he said. "It's a great opportunity for us."
Cllr Gabrielle McFadden told the council she had thought long and hard and recognised the need for development. However, she expressed concern at what might be a white elephant property for the town, lying unoccupied for years.
“Why not develop what we have?" she asked. "This development failed to consult local residents. It's an over-development of a site."
She added that the increase in noise and dust during construction, and the decrease in lighting for residents were not positive for townspeople in the area.
Cllr Paul Hogan said he had problems with the definition of tall buildings, a zoning definition approved by the council in 2008.
“A tall building to me could be four, five, six stories high," he said. "To others 10 to 15."
“It's a tower which will be towering over residents' properties in the immediate area," he said. The shadow thrown by the building would likely obstruct at least eight if not more properties.
Cllr Jim Henson who voted against the project, saw the rise in employment as a temporary fix.
“In the short term we get plenty of work for the builders," he said.
However, Cllr. Aengus O'Rourke praised the high quality construction believing such a calibre would encourage corporate businesses to consider tenancy.
“For me that means jobs and for me that's a very important thing," he said.
Mayor Sheila Buckley Byrne said the town's size didn't allow for a high rise the size of this one in the location proposed.
“It's a garrison town," she said. "It has small streets. Small streets are part of Athlone. The site where this is located is very small and it has a residential area."
Cllr. Buckley Byrne also didn't believe the town's infrastructure could support the project and felt the town's drainage and road issues needed to be addressed prior to such a project.
There were four votes in favour of the proposal and four against. One against. A majority of six votes was needed to approve rezoning the land on Station Road. It failed.
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