14-Storey Tower Plan Looms Over Laurance’s Gate
WHO knew that there were plans to build a 14-story apartment tower in the middle of Constitution Hill just 50 metres from Laurance’s Gate?
How could anyone have known unless they read the site notice or happened to come upon an advert positioned on page 39 of the Daily Star on April 13 last.
While this is in line with planning laws few people in the area knew that this massive construction project was going ahead because as of yesterday there were only four objections listed with Louth County Council, mine made it five.
To be honest when I read about it in the local paper this week I thought it was a hoax as I couldn’t believe that what was proposed would be constructed so close to the ancient monument which is emblazoned on Drogheda’s coat of arms.
But it’s no hoax, plans have been submitted to build two huge apartment blocks reaching 14-stories and 11-stories high running from the centre of Constitution Hill to the Mall.
There are also plans for a smaller block and if planning permission is granted there will be a total of 60 residential units and if I’m reading the plans correctly there is no parking spaces in one of the most congested areas of the town.
It is obviously assumed that the many hundreds of residents of these proposed towers and their visitors will have no desire to own a car.
In my opinion, if you were set the task of finding the least suitable site in Drogheda to construct a 14-story tower this is the site you would choose.
If this project goes ahead as planned it will be a major setback for Drogheda ever becoming a proper tourist destination as the entire centre of the town will be dominated by this tower.
It has been pointed out that many towns on the continent preserve their ancient centres with strict laws and place height restrictions on new buildings to retain the character of the area.
They also recognise the need for high density residential units by allowing high rise buildings well away from town centres on the periphery of urban areas where there is adequate infrastructure and amenities.
If this goes ahead Drogheda will be doing the exact opposite by placing a massive housing complex in the dead centre of a town where there is very limited amenities and huge congestion.
The site where these towers would be built is one of the oldest areas of the town and if properly redeveloped has the potential to become a medieval quarter as Blind Gate and the most intact stretch of the old town are nearby.
Unfortunately when it comes to planning Drogheda has a disastrous history and it should never be forgotten that the wanton destruction of medieval John’s Street and James’s Street were done in the name of progress when an out-of-town bypass was what was needed.
There is a planning application to build a much-needed 188-bed hotel on the Donore Road near the roundabout and that is where this complex should be constructed and not in the very centre of a traffic-choked town.
You could not imagine such a structure being built in the centre of Dundalk, that’s because unlike Drogheda, it has an Urban Area Plan which dictates what can and can not be built.
Power Bills Up, Patience Running Out
IF we didn’t already have the highest electricity prices in Europe, well we have now after Electric Ireland announced it is to raise energy prices for its residential customers from the start of next month.
These rip off merchants – a subsidiary of the State-owned ESB Group – said it would raise its electricity by eight percent from July 1, with gas prices rising by 7.7% at the same time.
As if we weren’t being gouged enough, the average electricity customer will now have €138.24 added to their annual bill, while the average gas customer will see their annual bill rise by €116.76.
It’s getting to the stage where it is becoming almost impossible to survive in this country unless you are on a TDs wages.
You can be sure that these price hikes won’t apply to the data centres which are already being subsidised by ordinary households.
A Few Days of Sunshine and We’re in a Climate Crisis
IF there are weather gods you couldn’t blame them for being angry as when they send a little bit of sun our national broadcaster goes completely bonkers.
All week RTE radio has been banging about how three or four days of warm weather is a sure sign of global warming instead of just enjoying the sunshine.
No wonder many young people are depressed and despondent as they are being bombarded with non-stop climate hysteria.
On Wednesday the broadcaster outdone itself with the weather dominating news and current affairs programmes from 7am while wheeling out experts and prophets of doom.
While no one is denying climate change, it has always changed, but a few days of sunshine isn’t a sign of it, no more than one swallow makes a summer.
Those old enough to remember the summer of 1976, when there was almost no rain from late May until late August, laugh at all the fuss on a three-day wonder that didn’t even officially qualify as a heatwave.
