Residents Reject New Kilcoole Development Plans

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It was a packed house at St Patrick’s Hall in Kilcoole last night as residents gathered for an emergency meeting over a major new housing development in the town.

Having jumped straight to An Bord Pleanala after a thumbs-up from Wicklow County Council, the general consensus was that the proposed Bullford plans would have a deeply detrimental impact on the town.

In the words of one of the organisers of last night’s meeting, Tom Fortune, “people just cannot believe what is being proposed“.

With the conclusion that the plans for 267 units – including 183 houses, 84 apartments, 9 retail units, one creche and one innovation hub – would need to go back to Wicklow County Council for a proper overview and consultation with the Kilcoole community.

“It’s like they’re trying to fit a quarter of milk into a pint bottle,” says Fortune, pointing out that this boom time project is being enacted without the necessary road infrastructure. 

The councillor also argued that the artist impressions on the Bullford website did not reflect what is detailed on the site plan, above. “It is giving a very false impression.”

For now, those wishing to object to the current Bullford plan for Kilcoole should write to WCC, pointing out their concerns, and you can object to An Bord Pleanala directly, at a cost of €20.

For the latter, it was felt at the meeting that all submissions should request that the project be referred back to Wicklow County Council for a full study, and that the project should be co-ordinated with designs for the Rural Regeneration Plan for the south of the village.

You can send your objections to An Bord Pleanala, 64 Marlborough Street, Dublin, with the reference number 302552-18. Deadline is October 15th, and further details on making an appeal can be found here. You can check out our recent interview with Grainne McLoughlin and Tom Fortune on the matter here, and find out more on the Take Back Kilcoole Facebook page here.