Residential and commercial units planned for Ballymoneen site
Plans for a multi-million euro residential and commercial development on a site off the Western Distributor Road – including more than 90 new homes – have been drawn up by a Dublin-based investment management company.
The 6.5-acre site off the Ballymoneen Road – previously earmarked for a hugely controversial Lidl supermarket refused permission by An Bord Pleanála – was purchased last year by Ardstone Capital for a figure believed to have been around €4.6 million.
The company has submitted plans to Galway City Council for the development of the site at Ballymoneen West, which will have vehicular access from the Ballymoneen Road and via the Leargán development on the Distributor Road, as well as pedestrian access from the Distributor Road.
The application involves the construction of 91 new homes, four ground floor commercial units and a corner block of commercial units over three floors.
The development will comprise: • 24 three-bed semi-detached and 23 three-bed terraced units with the option to convert the attic space for habitable use; • 20 lower ground floor two-bed apartments with 20 duplex three-bed townhouses above; • 4 three-bed duplex townhouses over ground floor retail units; • 4 ground floor commercial units (totalling 284 square metres); • A corner block of commercial units over three floors (measuring 330 sq m) • A 380 sq m childcare facility and associated outdoor play areas; • Provision of shared communal and private, car parking, site landscaping and lighting.
Ardstone – which is owned by Donal Mulcahy, Donal O’Neill and Ciaran Burns, all with Dublin addresses – specialises in property investment in Ireland, the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Belgium on behalf of clients and investment funds.
The land was put on the market in January 2016 in two separate tranches of four acres and two acres, with a price tag totalling €3.3 million.
Two months previously, An Bord Pleanála refused permission for the second time for a €2m Lidl supermarket on the two-acre site, ruling there was no justification for a discount supermarket and it would seriously injure the visual amenity of the area.
The Lidl plans met with huge opposition from local residents – a series of objections to the application were lodged, as well as a petition with more than 130 signatures. In August 2014, the Board rejected an almost identical application for a Lidl store on the site.