This article is from page 14 of the 2008-04-22 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 14 JPG
CLARE County Council is to hold a special meeting in relation to a se- cret High Court settlement it reached with a couple over a planning appli- orale
ONMU KIM ONEAOlMMeOLeneleoD mealeroinentcamGuens PJ Kelly (FF) said it was necessary that a meeting be held in relation to the matter in the interests of “open- ness and transparency”.
It is understood that the matter re- lates to a secret High Court settle- ment that the council reached with Bernard Madigan and Mary Keane who instituted legal proceedings against the council after they were refused planning for 31 homes at a site outside Inagh in April, 2006.
Last year, the council finally grant- ed planning permission for the re- vised development and the site now has been put up for sale through John Vaughan Auctioneers with a guide price of €2 million.
The council approved the plan hav- ing regard to the zoning of the land, its intended use and the pattern of development in the area, conclud- ing that it would not seriously injure amenities and be in accordance with the proper planning and development of the area.
At the council’s March meeting, county solicitor, John Shaw declined
to reveal the settlement terms of the High Court case.
In response to a motion by Cllr PJ Kelly, he said the matter was one in which there was a confidential-
ity agreement which had not been waived by the other side.
“The case is settled and I am still not at liberty to disclose the terms of settlement in an open manner. I am happy to discuss same and disclose them in detail to individual council- lors privately or at a closed meeting of the council in committee,’ he said.
“While I want to be as open as pos- sible with members of the council, I have an obligation to protect the con- fidentiality of this agreement. In this regard and in an effort to be of assist- ance to the councillors, I can say that ultimately there was no financial loss to the council.”
However, at last night’s meeting, Cllr Kelly expressed his disatisfac- tion with the reply and said that he didn’t want to enter into a confiden- tiality agreement in relation to the information he may learn and may not like.
“T will reserve my position on con- fidentiality until the full details are put before me,” he said.
Seconding the motion, Cllr Martin Lafferty said he would be seeking a full report from the council’s Direc- tor of Planning, Bernadette Kinsella, in relation to the matter.