Lisdarn nursing home plan appealed

Plans for a multi-million euro nursing home development on the outskirts of Cavan Town face renewed scrutiny, this time from An Bord Pleanála, over locals concerns regarding traffic, environmental impact, as well as the scale of the proposed development.

Trygve Limited, whose majority shareholder is the French-owned Emeis Ireland Limited, were granted planning in July for a two-storey, 112-bed facility on lands locally known as ‘Corr’s Field’ at Lisdarn.

Representing a heavily scaled-back version of what was a previously approved 160-bed facility, the approval by Cavan planners has now been appealed to the national authority by neighbouring resident James Elliot.

Concerns

During the initial planning phase, Mr Elliot through Walter P Toolan and Sons of Ballinamore, submitted his unease over the impact the build would have particularly on the environment and infrastructure such as water supply, sewerage, and traffic capacity.

Originally acquired by The Lisdarn Partnership in 2015, plans for a nursing home were first secured in 2020, followed separately by plans for a complementary medical centre (83,000 sqm) on an adjoining portion. That adjoining 1.46 ha (3.61 acres) site was subsequently put up for sale through CBRE, with no buyer yet found.

The reduced in size nursing home later applied for (total gross floor area is approx. 6,722m²) comprises a reception lobby, bedroom blocks, day rooms, plant and circulation routes as well as courtyards and green areas.

Traffic

Regarding traffic Mr Elliot said the Traffic & Transport Assessment (TTA), commissioned by Trygve and conducted by TTRSA Ltd was “not sufficiently robust”.

It failed to take into account, he claimed, additional planned developments recently approved nearby- at St. Christopher’s and the extension to Cavan General Hospital- as well as issues over existing and forecasted “congestion” at Loreto College and works at Farnham School.

A proposed new branch road connecting the site to Cavan General Hospital was expected to increase volumes significantly Mr Elliott claimed, and he suggested the need for a “ghost island” or “bleed lane” to improve flow.

The TTRSA report had projected minimal impact and negligible queuing predicted in all tested traffic scenarios, finding that the access junction at Loreto Road will retain 98% spare capacity during morning peak times and 96% in the evening.

Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) deferred their judgment to the local authority, but reminded planners to apply the Department of Environment’s Spatial Planning and National Roads Guidelines.

Planning

In terms of planning there were allegations too of ‘salami slicing’, with Mr Elliott believing planners should consider it in terms of a broader undisclosed master plan.

He went on to state that the application was “fundamentally flawed” due to incompatibility particularly with the Habitats and Environmental Directives.

Environment

Highlighted in the planning report was that the development site lies over a locally important aquifer with “extreme vulnerability”, triggering further information within the submitted Natura Impact Statement (NIS) to mitigate against sediment runoff and accidental chemical spillage.

The land on which the development is proposed falls within the Cavan River water body, which is currently classified as having 'Poor Ecological Status' under the Water Framework Directive.

Criticism

Mr Elliot's criticism extended to the “temporary” proposed fencing solution put forward by Trygve, with calls for an permanent boundary wall to be put in place; not to mention the location of bin storage adjacent to residential gardens and a static drain.

The Department of Heritage and Local Government also expressed archaeological concerns, recommending pre-development testing due to potential for subsurface remains.

Permission was ultimately granted by Cavan County Council with conditions attached, that include development contributions of €168,070, the inclusion of all NIS mitigation measures.

The need for archaeological testing prior to site works, and a detailed traffic management plan during the construction phase was also included.