PLANS to provide apartments for refugees at a former Macroom hotel have been upheld by the appeals board.

An Coimisiún Pleanala has given the go-ahead for the development of new apartment blocks to provide temporary accommodation for refugees despite a number of objections.

It approved plans for an IPAS centre comprising 20 units at the Riverside Park Hotel at Lower Codrum, Macroom.

Peppard Investments Ltd applied to demolish an existing dwelling and outbuilding to build the two apartment blocks.

One of the conditioons for the development stipulates that the apartments can only be occupied by Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection or displaced persons to whom temporary protection applies.

The site is to the west of the town centre, at the Macroom Accommodation Centre which is within the former Riverside Park Hotel property on the Killarney Road.

The new apartments will replace an existing bungalow on the site and provide additional housing on site.

The former hotel property has been in use as accommodation for a number of years.

There were eight third-party submissions to the original planning application lodged with Cork County Council, which raised concerns over how close the development is to the golf club, flooding concerns, pressure on housing and services in the town, and a lack of public transport.

There were three third-party appeals to An Coimisiún Pleanala.

Two appeals are from residents of Macroom and one from Macroom Golf Club. The main issues raised included a lack of public transport and an increased strain on services including GP, schools, ambulances.

There are already 2 IPAS centres in Macroom.

Macroom Golf Club raised concerns, including that golf balls from Hole 13 could potentially damage the proposed development.

The appeals board ruled that the developer is not accountable for overall trends in housing supply and that the proposal contributes to emergency accommodation and social housing supply.