This article is from page 20 of the 2007-09-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 20 JPG
PLANNERS have been accused of “flying in the face of their own poli- cy” in relation to the granting of per- mission to mobile phone operators to erect masts.
Councillor Cathal Crowe (FF) said at a meeting of Clare County Coun- cil last night that he could not under- stand the mechanisms behind many of the permissions granted.
Referring to a presentation made to the council the previous week by an official of O2, the councillor said that
he was told “that there is a four mile radius coverage from these masts.”
Yet in many places, the masts are going up in clusters. In Meelick there are up to five in a one-mile area.”
Cllr Crowe said the frequency with which masts are given planning per- mission “flies in the face of the coun- cil’s policy on co-location”.
The councillor said it was “impos- sible to understand some of the per- missions given.
“In the case of Coolderry, a 70 ft mast is not considered to be visually obtrusive yet and ordinary dwelling
house in the same location is refused permission on grounds of being visu- PO RYAcO)0 10 UU Aone
Seconding the motion, Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) said there “has to be consistency here, particularly con- cerning these masts being visually obtrusive.
“It opens another issue entirely. More often than not an Bord Plean- nala overturns our inspector’s re- ports and this is something we have no input into.”
Officials told the meeting that each planning application is “dealt with
on it’s own merits, having regard to the site and the application”.
Cllr Crowe said he wanted “‘a justi- fication on how a a 6/0 foot mast is considered appropriate when a nor- mal dwelling isn’t. We need to start refusing some of these applications if we have any care at all for the people of this county.”
In a separate discussion on plan- ning matters, Cllr PJ Kelly (FF) told the meeting that people who were born and have lived all their lives in the county are having difficulty with permission because they cannot
prove they have been resident here for ten years.
“If someone is applying to build for the first time and they are living with their parents, how can they prove they satisfy the local rural person rule if they have no utility bills in their name because their parents pay the bills?” the councillor asked.
He also challenged the practice of insisting that people prove they have lived in Clare for the last ten years.
“If someone is a guest of the nation in Mountjoy for 18 months then they lost their status,” he said.