'This is a recipe for problems down the road' - new development has parking for 1 out of 3 units

A new housing development in Dungarvan will have 28 car parking spaces for 78 residential units. 

The Fairlane development will consist of 78 dwellings, a mixture of 18 one-bed, 32 two-bed and 28 three-bed units. 

While the development has been warmly welcomed in Dungarvan, local councillors are concerned about the lack of parking facilities for the future residents. 

At the May meeting of Dungarvan-Lismore Council, councillors voiced their reservations about the development's parking capacity.

Councillor Damien Geoghegan said: "The materials being used and the quality looks fantastic but 28 carparking spaces for 78 units is a recipe for problems down the road. If there's only one car for 28 units, 50 units are going to be there with no parking."

The Fine Gael Councillor went on: "There's no point any of us coming in a few years' time saying, 'There's a parking issue over there, somebody should do something about it'. It's a bridge that is going to have to be crossed at some stage, maybe it will come down from the housing department or the allocations team, that they'll ensure that. There are a number of people on our housing list that don't have a car."

Councillor Joe O'Riordan said that future parking issues could put a strain on the neighbouring Lidl store located next to the site. 

He said: "There is a large carpark at Lidl and you can park overnight there, so there is parking available. My question is, how many of these units are going to go to people in Dungarvan?"

'Very serious'

Councillor Thomas Phelan called the parking matter 'very serious', commenting: "It's not just coming down the track, it's already with us. What ends up happening is that public transport is supposed to pick up the slack. We're not there yet, sure even in Dublin they're killing each other over parking spaces. Until public transport is where it needs to be, we shouldn't be doing these things on a wishful thinking basis, we should be adapting for the reality that's on the ground now."

Councillor Kate O'Mahoney welcomed the development but also criticised the lack of parking spaces, describing it as 'not sustainable'. The Sinn Féin councillor said: "We know, we canvas, we knock on doors, we meet people and lack of parking space is a key issue.

"You also have to think about the knock-on effect of the housing crisis on adult children living at home. My own house has two adult children, including me. That's four cars outside the home and that's the reality for the majority of housing developments, either private housing or social housing."

She continued: "Cars are needed for your education, your work, to live independently, and that shouldn't be a factor as to whether you should be housed or not before someone else."

The Executive told the Councillors that the planning of the Fairlane development was in accordance with national policy. A member of the Executive said: "This is a town centre site. In a town centre site there is actually zero parking to be provided. I think it's been highlighted we have 28 parking spaces. We must comply with our development plan.

"Our development plan says the exact same thing. Unfortunately, we are not able to veer from that, whether we like it or not. We also have sustainable travel."

Funded by the Local Democracy Scheme