Artigarvan housing plans refused due to road safety concerns

PLANS for 41 new houses in Artigarvan have been refused because of road safety concerns.

The proposal involved the construction of a new development in the Moorlough Road area of the village.

However, Derry City and Strabane District Council has refused planning permission for the development because of the impact it would have on the surrounding area.

The company behind the plans was Billy Henderson Properties Ltd.

A meeting of the council’s planning committee was told this week the company will be submitting a new plan for the Moorlough site which would see the size of the development reduced to five properties.

Outlining its reasons for refusing the planning application, a report by council officials said the housing development would ‘prejudice the safety and convenience of road users since it would cause an unacceptable increase in traffic movements on Moorlough Road’.

Another reason given was that an ‘adequate footway cannot be provided to link the site to the existing footway on Berryhill Road to accommodate the increased pedestrian movements’.

While a number of agencies said they had no objections to the new development, the Department of Infrastructure had recommended planning permission be refused because of concerns around the road infrastructure in the area.

Objections had also been raised by Lakeland Diaries, which is located beside the proposed new development.

In a letter to the council, the company said its plant operated on a 24-hour basis and there could be issues with noise at the new houses.

Lakeland Diaries said any development ‘likely to curtail activity at the site would have adverse effects on the livelihood of the company’s employees and milk suppliers in the farming community’.