Planning granted for Monaghan DP centre plan

The County Council has given the green-light to the Tattonward Limited submission to retain eight inter-related units at the Drumgoask site.

Planning has been granted to retain elements of the accommodation for asylum seeker at St. Patrick’s Direct Provision Centre in Monaghan.

The County Council has given the green-light to the Tattonward Limited submission to retain eight inter-related units at the Drumgoask site.

These include three single-storey prefabs, two of which contain eight units, with the third building providing nine units.

All of these dwellings providing a kitchenette, shower room with toilet and a communal, all-purpose (living and sleeping), room.

The planning application notes that these units accommodate asylum seeker households of “generally between one and three residents each”, but could “extend” to cater for five residents each, depending on family size.

Goundworks for these units comprising the laying of a foundation slab and the creation of connections to the on-site network and the sewage treatment plant which serves this Direct Provision centre is also included in the application for retention.

A prefabricated laundry building for a temporary period of eighteen months “pending its replacement” by permanent development will also be retained.

Furthermore, the application allows Tattonward Ltd, which accommodates in the region of 150 asylum seekers on site, to keep a retaining wall, the conversion of a vacant building originally used as accommodation into a facility containing seven individual cooking facilities and two storerooms, and the change of use of an existing building formerly used as a playroom to an outlet for the supply of convenience goods to residents in this centre.

Three plant rooms which contain heat pumps for the modular blocks will also be kept, as per the planning application, as will two the retention of two new partly completed playgrounds, which will collectively cover an area of 545 sq. metres.

The application also includes future development of two new playgrounds, as well as all ancillary site works.

Monaghan planners have granted the submission together with six conditions attached.

The permission granted is for a period of five years from the date of the final grant of permission.

The Council state that the development shall be permanently removed prior to the expiry of that period unless prior to the end of the five year period, planning permission for its retention for a further period has been granted by the Planning Authority or An Bord Pleanala.

Tattonward Ltd will pay Monaghan County Council a sum of €8127 towards expenditure incurred by the local authoruty in the provision of community, recreation and amenity public infrastructure and facilities in the area.

No works shall commence until payment of the development contribution is made in full.

Before any work is commenced, by way of a cash security, a further sum of €2250 shall be paid to the Planning Authority by the developer to ensure the satisfactory completion of all surface water drainage/boundary work.

As part of the planning, measures to prevent the discharge of polluting matter to waters must be provided for.

Road safety measures must also be taken into account at the entrance to the Drumgoask site.

There must be no additional signs, flags, logos, other advertising material or illumination erected or displayed, and no floodlighting or other external means of illumination of the buildings, parking areas shall be installed “in the interest of proper planning and sustainable development”.