An Bord Pleanála has refused permission for a 170-home development planned for the Castlegar area.

Lock House Developments Ltd had sought permission to develop the 11.5-acre site north of Bóthar an Chóiste to include 84 houses and 86 apartments.

It’s understood the development – which went directly to An Bord Pleanála as a Strategic Housing Development, bypassing the usual route of applying to Galway City Council – was intended to be acquired by Co-operative Housing Ireland for use as social housing.

But An Bord Pleanála has refused to give planning permission, criticising the design and layout of the development, including a central shared space “that would be dominated by an array of hard surfaces with limited soft landscaping and excessively-wide home zones”.

In its ruling, it said: “The proposed development would not be conducive to creating a people-friendly environment, would not feature sufficient quality, functional, recreational and amenity space and facilities to conveniently serve the public and communal space needs of future residents of the development.”

Permission was sought for 84 two-storey houses (34 two-bed; 42 three-bed and 8 four-bed); 48 duplex units (11 one-bed; 24 two-bed and 13 three-bed); a block of 17 apartments (10 one-bed and 7 two-bed); a block of 21 apartments (12 one-bed and 9 two-bed).

The plans also envisaged a two-storey crèche with 46 child spaces, parking spaces, and a central area with formal and informal play areas, some of which will overlook the adjacent designated greenway route.

It would require the demolition of an existing house and ruins of another house and outbuilding.

Submissions had been made to the planning appeals board on the issue by the Castlegar Residents’ Association  and the Galway Cycling Campaign, pointing to concerns over road safety on a rural road and exacerbation of an existing ‘rat-run’ problem, among other objections.

Pictured: A computer-generated image of how the Castlegar development would look from Bóthar an Chóiste.