by Ronan McSherry
There was uproar at Tuesday night's meeting of Omagh District Council when local residents led by Cllr Ross Hussey voiced their anger at the proposed development planned for the former Desmonds site on the Kevlin Road.
Members of Kevlin Road Community Association are furious that a four-storey complex is to be built on the ground as well as dwellings and retail units. The residents claim this will have serious repercussions for the infrastructure of the area and cause major problems for roads, sewage and water. However the plan by Galbally Development Ltd has received the backing of SDLP and Sinn Féin councillors as well as Omagh town independent representative Paddy McGowan.
Cllr Ross Hussey told the UH that a letter of appeal has been sent to the Minister of Environment Sammy Wilson in a bid to stop the development that he describes as 'cramming.'
"It is an over-development at the site," he said. "Whenever you look coldly at this site and compare it for example to Festival Park it is about half the size and yet they propose to put 111 dwellings plus at least three or four retail units. It is referred to in planning terms as 'cramming.' Whenever you build a housing development in Omagh it is supposed to be in character with the surrounding area. Festival Park nearby has 78 houses, a combination of semi-detached and terraced housing. Cannondale is similar."
The UUP councillor predicts there will be 'traffic bedlam' if the plans go ahead.
"There is one entrance and one exit. Not even counting the retail units that is an estimated additional 2,000 vehicles on the Kevlin Road a day trying to get in and out of that site. The Kevlin Road is already a nightmare. There is also concern about the sewage."
Cllr Hussey acknowledged that the DOE Planning Service gave the go-ahead for the development but believes in their advisory capacity the council should have backed the residents.
DUP representative for Omagh town Cllr Clive McFarland also expressed bitter disappointment that Omagh District Council has backed the Planning Service.
He said, "I believe that through this decision the Planning Service have effectively signed off on something which will have a hugely detrimental impact on the quality of life of local residents. Unfortunately the decision by Omagh District Council to support this development in its present form comes just after the council launched its visioning document for the future.
"It's clear though that those councillors who have been chief cheerleaders for something which is totally out of keeping in a residential area have absolutely no vision whatsoever."
SDLP Cllr Jo Deehan supports the proposals for the Desmond's site. She has acted as a mediator between the developer Dr Brendan McDonald and the residents and said it was agreed to reduce the scale of the building from five storeys to four.
She said, "The developers initially submitted planning permission in January 2007 and it came to the council about May this year with a recommendation for approval. There has to be give and take on both sides. I congratulated the Kevlin Road Community Association for highlighting the issue and getting the developer to amend his plans as initially he was not of a mind to do so. The council has been supportive of the Kevlin Road Community Association and have done everything that they can."
Dr Deehan pointed to the problem of PPS14 guideline that restricts building in the countryside.
"There is an issue regarding housing densities in urban areas. People are being forced to come into the urban areas and I object to that. The information I have is that it is going to get much worse. I think that what we need to do is to get them to recognise that high density housing in the town is not acceptable.
"I think what has happened on the Desmonds' site is that the developer has given in to some extent, not as much as the residents association would have wanted but there has been some recognition of their complaints. The council have been supportive in spite of what the residents association feel."
