THERE is good news on the housing front this week, with hundreds of new homes being given the green light by planners.
With demand for family homes remaining high in Fermanagh, and stock relatively low, many looking to get on the property market will welcome the news that plans for three major new developments in Enniskillen, Derrylin and Kesh have been approved by the Council.
In total, the new developments, when combined, will bring a total of 196 new home to the county.
The largest will be on the Tempo Road in Enniskillen, right next to the new Devenish College site.
The development will see 87 new homes being built, made up of both detached and semi-detached buildings. It will also include car parking, landscaping and open spaces.
There were no objections to the plans, and Council planners have said the development will not impact traffic congestion in the area, nor will it harm any protected species or habitats. It was also noted the development will be barely visible from the main road.
On the recommendation of the Council planning officers’ report, members of the planning committee approved the plans, subject to a number of conditions.
The second largest planned new development will be just off the Main Street in Derrylin, behind McDade’s Centra, with access near Crust and Crumb bakery.
The site is currently a large rectangular field to the back of the former village primary school.
Consisting of 58 dwellings – a mix of 10 duplex apartments, six detached house, and 42 semi-detached homes – the development has also been approved subject to conditions.
Four road-side town houses in Derrylin will be removed to make way for the site, and planners have pointed out the proposed apartment blocks will be built in their place and will resemble the houses that are be demolished, meaning there will be little change to the look of the area when the development is completed.
Planners have also said that while there are other homes in the vicinity of the development, it has been designed so there is no overlooking or overshadowing of other properties.
Environmental assessments of the plans have concluded the development should have no impact on bird and bat habitats in the area.
Finally, a development of 51 new homes has also been approved for the Drumwhinny Road, Kesh.
This development will be made up of 13 detached houses and 38 semi-detached properties.
Speaking during a recent Council planning committee meeting, it was noted the developers had previously held a public consultation event on the plans, and they had taken on the concerns of the local community when finalising the plans, which were also passed subject to conditions.
Cllr John McClaughry commended both the planners and developers for such good engagement, which he said had led to “positive outcomes for everybody.”
Noting the planned development was on field, he added, “I know it’s referred to as agricultural land, but as someone in the area would say, if you saw the devil tethered in you would cut him lose because it’s not great quality land, but it will make good sites for houses.”
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