Fresh planning bid mooted for €5m soccer centre of excellence in Offaly
The Midlands Schoolboy/girls League has decided not to appeal the planning refusal for its proposed €5m underage soccer centre of excellence on a 27-acre site in Offaly - but has said it will be lodging a fresh plannning application for the development instead.
Speaking to the Offaly Independent this week, Midlands Schoolboys/girls League secretary Derek Collins said he and his fellow committee members were hoping to meet with planners from the local authority to discuss what "changes can be made to the original application" to ensure the project receives approval.
Since the council's decision last month to refuse permission for the project, the secretary has met with local councillors and Dáil representatives to garner support.
"We have spent the last number of weeks meeting with elected representatives and they are all unanimous in their support for this development.
Many have written letters of support for our cause and we hope this will be in our favour when we meet the planners again," Mr Collins said.
When the league received news of the planning permission refusal last month, the secretary said the committee's "initial thought" was to appeal the decision to An Coimisiún Pleanála, but "we would be taking a 50-50 chance in doing so".
Now, he hopes that the planners will meet with the committee in due course to "fix what is wrong with the application".
"I believe that planners may have looked on our application as if it was coming from a local football club, as opposed to it being a major centre of excellence development and the positives that will have for all the boys and girls who play in the league," Mr Collins said.
At the time of issuing its planning refusal, Offaly County Council said the proposal "would set an undesirable precedent for similar unsustainable forms of development in the open countryside, would negatively impact on the rural character of the area, and would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area".
However, Mr Collins argued that "the majority of sporting centres of excellence are built outside of urban areas as it is impossible to buy 18-20 acres of land in a town for this kind of development".
In making its decision, the council also stated that the proposed development would "put an unnecessary burden on the local road network" and "endanger public safety by reason of a traffic hazard" based on the "projected traffic numbers associated with trainings, matches and tournaments".
The Midlands Schoolboy/girls League submitted the original planning application in December for the proposed development of four playing pitches, two grass playing pitches and two pitches with a synthetic all-weather surface.
The planning application also proposed the construction of a "single-level facilities building", 865 sq m in size, which would incorporate an "entrance lobby, reception area, function room, meeting room, weight/training room, multi-purpose community room, eight changing rooms, medical/first aid room, shower and toilet facilities".
Mr Collins is hoping that the league has "only reached half-time" and "not full-time" in terms of the proposed development. "Hopefully, we can have a positive meeting with the planning team and resubmit our plans for the centre of excellence in due course."
Mr Collins added that he was hoping the league has “only reached half-time” and “not full-time” in terms of the proposed development.
“Hopefully, we can have a positive meeting with the planning team and resubmit our plans for the centre of excellence in due course,” Mr Collins stated.
“We would love common sense to prevail to allow this badly-needed centre of excellence for all our underage players to come to fruition. It’s the next step of progression for our league,” he concluded.