Planners dismiss concerns that Buncrana hostel will cause fear among elderly

Planning permission has been granted for a 21-bedroom hostel in Buncrana which is to be used to house families affected by the defective concrete blocks crisis or Ukrainian refugees.

John and Martin McKinney have been given the go-ahead by Donegal County Council for the construction of a new two-storey, 21-bedroom residential hostel at Cockhill Road, Ballymacarry. The building is to include a mixture of single and double rooms and two family suites.

A council report on the application said the applicant submitted a statement confirming that the hostel, which is to house a maximum of 29 people, will be used for medium to long-term use only and will not be used for short-term holiday or tourist accommodation. The applicants also proposed that no letting would be of a duration of less than nine months.

The council, which granted planning subject to 20 conditions,  said the statement confirms the building will be used to accommodate “mica-affected families or displaced persons from Ukraine seeking protection”. 

The residential zoning for the area would allow lets “of reasonable duration but not a hostel for high occupant turnover short letting," the council said.

A planning report said the “principle of the development is considered on balance to be acceptable”.

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Two objections to the development raised concerns about the development including that it would devalue neighbouring properties, would aggravate traffic congestion and that the site is prone to flooding.

One objection expressed the view that the hostel could cause elderly people living in the area to “feel vulnerable and nervous”.

The council responded that it did “not know of any reason why this might be” stating that “any new residential development introduces the potential for a wide range of occupant personalities”. 

“It could be argued that there is safety in numbers and additional new neighbours has a stronger potential to afford greater security to the neighbourhood,” a council planning report on the development stated.

The council said that while flood maps show that a portion of the site has a history of flooding, “it appears that the area that becomes inundated would not extend to the footprint of the proposed building”.

A preliminary flood risk assessment submitted for the application concluded that the site or the lands immediately neighbouring the site were not prone to flooding.