The Office of the Planning Regulator has raised concerns over the lack of evidence to allow zoning of lands for an extension to the Kerry Technology Park.
The concerns are included in the OPR’s submission to the draft Tralee Municipal District’s Settlements Plan, which is a variation to the wider County Development Plan.
The planning regulator has made several recommendations which Kerry County Council must review and decide if they want to follow.
The Tralee MD Settlements’ Plan will replace the Tralee Town Development Plan in the council’s wider County Development Plan, and it recently went out for public consultation.
The council says this new plan will provide a comprehensive local planning framework with clear policies and objectives including land use zoning, for the common good.
The OPR has written that it has concerns over the justification for an extension to the Kerry Technology Park in Dromtacker.
It says while the extension may be justified in terms of the need for new employment lands, the new zoning also allows for shops and offices, which could undermine the vitality and viability of the town centre.
The OPR has asked the council to include evidence-based rationale for this expansion.
The national regulator says further consideration also needs to be given in the plan to accessibility of lands by walking, cycling, and public transport.
Separately, the OPR wrote it was concerned about the inclusion of cinema use in the zoning of two other sites, one at the former racecourse in Ballybeggan, and another on the Bracker O’Regan Road.
The OPR also raised concerns about zoning for lands in Fenit for tourism use, given the wastewater treatment plant there won’t be finished until 2029.
The office also wrote that there is enough land zoned to accommodate future housing targets, and there is no evidence to support zoning more lands at this time.
The council’s CEO must now summarise these recommendations for elected councillors, and decide whether to follow them; if the council decides not to follow them, it must explain that decision to the OPR in writing.
