KCA to complain about development

Kilcullen Community Action is to make a complaint to the Conservation & Compliance section of Kildare County Council in relation to an offices/retail development beside the Hideout.



This follows a discussion at the latest meeting of the group, which heard that there could be up to nine points of difference in the almost-complete office and retail project when measured against the planning permission.

Local engineer J J Warren is to draw up a technical report on the matter, which was raised in correspondence by local businesswoman Josephine Byrne. His report will accompany an official complaint from KCA.

In a letter to KCA she outlined two major points where it seemed that unauthorised development had taken place. These related to the height of the building and to five windows facing out onto her filling station which were not in the plans on which permission was granted. She said these represented a health and safety issue, as some of them opened right over the petrol infill stand of her filling station, which is bound by stringent statutory safety regulations.

She said that she had already lodged a complaint with Kildare County Council, after seeing what had actually been done when the scaffolding around the building was taken down after Christmas. Celia Travers commented that up to that time the work 'had been well camouflaged'.



Local engineer J J Warren said he had found nine points of divergence from the permission granted to the developer. These included windows on the front which were not in line with the protected nearby building of The Hideout, as originally proposed. He said that the initial planner's report on the first application had been 'very specific' in requiring that the roofline not be extended above the neighbouring building.

During the discussion, Esther Kiely described the building as 'monstrous'. Celia Travers said it looked like a 'bunker'. Other KCA members also detailed their criticisms, with a concensus that the actual building was nothing like the one for which permission had been granted.

Tony Gahan warned that 'time was not on the side' of the complaints. "By the time it is dealt with, the building will be occupied and functioning," he said. "Then you'll get nowhere."

J J Warren disagreed, saying that under new rules the Council had to act and could be legally forced to do so.

At the time of the original application, neither KCA nor Josephine Byrne and her late husband Des had raised any objections, since the project as proposed appeared quite reasonable in relation to the surrounding buildings.

Margaret O'Shea said the position as it is now 'makes a laugh' of the planning system.

Brian Byrne.

Related Stories:

Office, retail plan for Hideout
Letter: Re Hideout development
Hideout development discussed