An aerial view of the proposed new housing scheme in the heart of Ballina.

A planned residential development in the heart of Ballina hopes to create an exemplar for circular, sustainable living in regional town centres.

Scotch House, located on Pearse Street, has been designed to counteract the idea that living in a town centre is a compromise, according to Kevin Loftus, an architect with designers ACT.

“Irish people don’t see town centre living as attractive, it is usually a compromise. We decided to combine the best of the suburban and urban qualities and took lifestyle elements into consideration,” he said.

“We designed a community with shared open space, gardens, greenhouses, play spaces and a community common house that can host a variety of functions, gym, co-working, etc. in the heart of Ballina.”

The proposed development will have solar panels to generate energy on-site with smart metering used to minimise wastage. Green roofs will be used to provide space for nature and for people. The roofs are planted with low-maintenance native flowers and grasses that provide immediate access to greenspace while supporting biodiversity with planters and greenhouses offering residents the potential to grow food on site.

The new development will combine residential and commercial spaces.

The water attenuating qualities will also take pressure off the stormwater system and harvested water can be used on site.

The proposed development contains five residential units, ranging from one to three-beds, and the variety of home types will cater for multi-generational living.

The dwellings will be a collection of prefabricated buildings sitting above existing structures with the designers adding to what is already there, as opposed to demolishing it. This will maintain the embodied carbon with new builds being constructed from low carbon prefabricated panels with high insulative quality to create a low-energy build. Each dwelling has a front door that opens directly into the adjoining gardens.

On the ground floor, there is an existing dead-end service laneway which will be opened to create a public access route that the designers say will make the town more permeable and pedestrian-friendly while also promoting active travel.

The project has a second side that will connect at the rear to Ballina’s new Innovation Quarter on Market Square. Here, an old disused auction hall is being brought back into use as a commercial space, creating an anchor on this side of the project.

The designers envisage a community with shared open space, gardens, greenhouses, play spaces and a common house that can host a variety of functions, gym, co-working, etc. in the heart of Ballina.

“By stacking residential volumes with open space atop commercial space and creating a public access connection we are combining the best of suburban and urban. This is a new typology for town centre living,” explained Mr Loftus.

“We’re also conscious of the building we’re adding to. There was a Scottish family who came to Ballina and ran a drapery here and it is a connection we’re trying to revive. While this is a forward-looking project in terms of modern town centre living, we’re giving a nod to the past.

“As well as this, the intention we have for the cladding is clay tiles. This is a modern homage to the clay brick buildings in Ballina such as the former Provincial Bank, which is now the Jackie Clarke Collection,” added Mr Loftus.

The development has been submitted to Mayo County Council for planning permission.