Revealed: Appeal fails against decision for 22-unit Letterkenny apartment block
An Coimisiún Pleanála upholds Donegal County Council approval for four-storey building
An Coimisiún Pleanála has upheld a Donegal County Council decision to grant conditional planning permission for the construction of a four-storey apartment block containing 22 apartments in Letterkenny.
Donegal County Council granted conditional planning permission to the listed applicant, Brian Brogan, in November 2025, for the planned 16 two-bed apartments and six one-bed apartments, with the proposed location being Calhame Road, next to the Mountain Top roundabout; however, that decision was later appealed to An Coimisiún Pleanála.
The granted permission also includes plans for a communal roof terrace and ancillary areas, including lower-level car parking and bicycle parking, a toddlers’ play area and landscaped amenity areas.
Prior to Donegal County Council’s decision, MH Associates submitted a letter, stating: “In our opinion, the proposed development represents a high-quality apartment scheme which has been designed to help to diversify the housing stock in Letterkenny and to help address the ongoing housing need.”
Third-party appeals were submitted against the Donegal County Decision, including an appeal submitted by the Mountain View Residents Association.
The Inspector’s Report for An Coimisiún Pleanála summarised the grounds of appeal on issues including traffic and transport, construction impacts, amenity impacts, and procedural matters.
Concerns were raised, including the intensification of access onto the N56, AND existing traffic congestion and safety issues at the Mountain Top, including the George Boal roundabout.
Fears were expressed that “large-scale construction on the site, including excavation, drilling, and provision of the underground car park, could generate vibration and ground movement that will affect nearby structures, including those affected by" Defective Concrete Blocks.
It was also considered that the “transition in height is abrupt, the proposal is overbearing and visually dominant and constitutes overdevelopment, failing to respect the established character of the area.”
“There would be no operational impact at the George Boal roundabout.”
The applicant's response was summarised, where the applicant maintained that “traffic generated from the development can be safely and efficiently accommodated on the local road network and at junctions with the N56,” and that a Traffic and Transport Assessment confirmed, “that there would be no operational impact at the George Boal roundabout.”
It was further stated that construction noise and vibration would not be an issue, and that it was “not possible to monitor noise and vibration from construction without works having commenced.”
Furthermore, the applicant argued that the building was not “significantly taller than the single-storey dwellings to the east, and it is lower than the dwellings to the south.”
An Coimisiún Pleanála’s Inspector, Terence McLellan, commented that “the proposal would not result in any significant adverse impacts on the local road networks or key junctions,” noting also the commitment to public transport improvement set to commence in 2026, which would serve to reduce car use.
McLellan considered the “proposed height, scale and massing of the development to be acceptable,” and he didn’t consider plans to be “visually dominant.”
He also agreed with the Planning Authority that the site was a “suburban/edge site and not rural,” and that the immediate context was £clearly suburban, with extensive residential estate development to the north/northwest and to the west/southwest, all on lands that rise well above that of the appeal site and the N56 corridor.”
McLellan recommended upholding Donegal County Council’s decision to grant planning permission for the proposals, stating that “the development would not seriously injure the residential amenities of property in the vicinity, or the visual amenities and character of the area, would not compromise traffic or pedestrian safety,” as well as being “in accordance with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.”