AN APPEAL has been lodged against plans for eight new homes at an estate overlooking Schull harbour.

Copper Point is a development of 47 homes, with plans for another eight recently approved by Cork County Council.

Three are two-bedroom houses, alongside one one-bed home and four one-bed apartments.

In July, Cork County Council granted approval for the plans by developer Richard Walsh and imposed 26 conditions.

The plans attracted six objections when first submitted to the council in May on the back of a previous planning application the developer later withdrew.

At the end of July, Copper Point residents Mary and Edward Murphy, alongside Imelda Jordan, lodged an appeal with An Coimisiún Pleanála opposing the proposal.

“The proposed development is completely at odds with what was originally permitted in terms of density and scale,” Mary and Edward Murphy stated in their letter of objection.

“The difference between the permitted footprint of the original planning versus the scale of the proposed development is indeed startling.”

The couple said that an additional eight houses at the site would go against the current County Development Plan proposal for Schull, which refers to “the protection of open spaces and thereby providing visual local amenity”.

The couple added that the breath-taking views of Schull harbour would be lost for most of the current Copper Point residents.

The development already includes a significant number of holiday properties, which are empty off-season.

Locals added they would not want new more homes left vacant for months on end.

Other concerns raised included loss of green space, noise from construction works, the health and mental wellbeing of elderly residents, inadequate wastewater infrastructure and lack of parking.

Imelda Jordan said in her submission that the estate had a total of 33 parking spaces with no additional parking planned for the new dwellings.

She said that landowner Richard Walsh had submitted several recent applications for developments, adding the current application was part of a pattern of sequential development across adjoining parcels of land within Copper Point.

“This is a clear instance of project splitting, which is contrary to the proper and orderly development of the area and to the principles of good planning,” she wrote.

Resident Marie Macfarlane, who also appealed the decision to An Coimisiún Pleanála, said that the development was out of all proportions in such a confined space.

Her planning appeal with An Coimisiún Pleanála was ruled invalid in July.

An Coimisiún Pleanála says the case will be decided by December 3.