Council approves plans for two Offaly GAA clubs
By Rebekah O'Reilly
Cathaoirleach of Offaly County Council Cllr. John Leahy said a "common sense approach was applied" to the decision to approve plans for two Offaly GAA clubs.
The local authority voted to approve the plans for proposed developments by St Rynagh's GAA Football Club and Daingean GAA Club which breached the core objectives, rules, or zoning of the Offaly County Development Plan.
St Rynagh's GAA Football Club made a planning application for major upgrade works to their existing facilities on the Birr Road, in Cloghan in March of last year.
The club sought to extend the existing facilities to include a new football pitch with ball stop nets, and LED flood lighting.
Adding to the facilities already on offer at the grounds, St Rynagh's intends to add a 1.2m wide walking track to match the existing walking track.
The club is also aiming to install seating, a wild flower area, and bicycle parking.
An additional 15 car parking spaces, as well as an additional two marked coach parking areas are noted in plans to extend the existing parking lot.
The existing GAA facilities (pitch, club house and parking) are located on lands which are zoned as 'Open Space, Amenity and Recreation'.
The need for a material contravention of the county development plan arose as a small piece of land, which the club plans to use for a playing pitch, is zoned for 'Enterprise and Employment'.
There was one submission made by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), which stated that “sufficient material remains to be submitted” to demonstrate that the project “will not have a detrimental impact on the capacity, safety, or operational efficiency of the national road network.”
In the submission, TII said the proposal noted that changes to the site access and boundary, including the removal of part of a wall to achieve visibility splays, raise road safety concerns at what it described as a “transitional and high-speed location.”
TII said it is “unable to ascertain that matters related to road safety have been fully considered and/or addressed” and recommended that an independent Road Safety Audit be carried out, with any resulting works funded by the developer.
The agency also said it expects Offaly County Council to ensure that safety issues relating to the N62, for both road users and visitors to the facility, are addressed before a final decision is made on the planning application.
Daingean GAA Club submitted a planning application to Offaly County Council for a substantial development at Townparks, Philipstown in January of this year.
The proposed development includes construction of a new 145m x 90m sports pitch, with eight floodlights standing 18m high to the northeast of the site.
Plans also include a viewing stand which is set to be located at the new sports pitch, consisting of a toilet block and storage area, as well as a second viewing stand to be located at the existing main sports pitch to the south of the site, consisting of a toilet block and storage area.
The land at Daingean GAA is zoned across three different categories, including 'Open Space, Recreation, and Amenity', 'Enterprise and Employment', and 'Community Services/Facilities'.
The need for a material contravention arose as there was a small piece of land, which the club plans to use for a playing pitch, is zoned for 'Enterprise and Employment'.
There were no submissions made in this case.