A proposal to build 56 new social houses in Loughrea was nearly scuppered by planned access points through a nearby estate.

Loughrea area councillors said they would stand by commitments they had given to residents of Hazelwood Estate not to support the development at Cosmona being built by Galway County Council. An application for a Lidl supermarket to the south of the site has already been approved.

Director of Services for Housing Michael Owens said this was the first project of this scale on a green field site in the municipal district for many years and would mark the first of 300 homes being delivered by the local authority here.

The new estate consisted of 44 houses and 12 apartments and would satisfy one fifth of the demand for social housing in the town. Six of the houses were bungalows and six of the apartments were accessible for people with mobility issues.  A total of 18% of the site was open spaces.

Project Manager Alan Brogan said of the nine submissions received in relation to the planning application, the majority of them were from residents of Hazelwood who vehemently opposed the two planned access routes through their estate.

As a result of their opposition, the design had been altered to remove the vehicular access but retained access for pedestrians.

But Cllr Michael ‘Moegie’ Maher (FG) said to say Hazelwood residents were ‘up in arms’ was an understatement.

“We are all aware we need those houses in Loughrea. We’re not against social housing and I’m delighted to hear 300 are on their way. But impinging on other estates is not the way to go. If you remove the access, I will support it.”

Cllr Declan Kelly (Ind) said he had given the same commitments to residents at a public meeting: “Each residential area should have its own context.”

Cllr Geraldine Donohue (Ind) concurred, saying she would only support it once the access was left out. She asked who would be responsible for maintenance of the estate as the application stated that it was the responsibility of the developer until it was taken in charge.

“The process of taking in charge can take years.”

She also questioned the amount of traffic that would be generated onto the R380, which had a speed limit of 50kph. A farming family who had spent €16,000 on trying to secure planning permission on the same road had been refused despite having every box ticked.

Cllr Ivan Canning (FF) asked why none of the estate was being offered to the public under the affordable housing scheme.

“I don’t agree with one or the other, it should be a mix. It’s unfortunate they’re not included here. Was it an oversight on our behalf.”

Cllr Jimmy McClearn (FG) said Hazelwood paid for their own maintenance so why should they have another estate accessing their property.

“For the life of me I’m at a loss to understand why there is a proposal to interfere with Hazelwood in any shape or form. It’s quite clear they want their estate left intact.”

Galway County Council as the developer would be responsible for the new estate’s upkeep, Mr Brogan said.

Mr Owens said the local authority did not qualify for department funding for the affordable housing scheme as it could not be offered at 15% below market value based on the building costs. Where a development was deemed viable and met funding conditions, mixed housing would be the preference.

He agreed to have the design amended to remove any connectivity between the two sites and would also revert the boundary wall to the same height to maintain its independence.

Councillors voted to accept the part 8 application once those amendments were included.

Building would begin by June and is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

Pictured: Left: Cllr Geraldine Donohue…support conditional on access change. Right: Cllr Michael ‘Moegie’ Maher…to say Hazelwood residents were ‘up in arms’ was an understatement.