This article is from page 5 of the 2013-03-05 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 5 JPG
THE waiting for Doolin residents, local surfers and Clare County Council will be over later today as An Bord Pleanála are set to announce whether the planned new pier for Doolin can go ahead.
A final decision on the development was expected to be announced yesterday, but no nothing was announced by the planning authority. Indeed, this is the fourth promised deadline that An Bord Pleanála have missed so far in 2013 and locals are becoming anxious at the time taken to come to a final decision.
“People are waiting for this decision to be made so their can get on with their lives. Whatever the decision turns out to be, people have been left in limbo,” said ferry operator Eugene Garrihy.
“We were given a date of January 2 [for a decision], then it was February 18. Then it was supposed to be last Friday and then today. I was on the phone to Clare County Council a few minutes ago and there won’t be a decision today.
“There is a lot of frustration locally with the amount of time that this is taking. People just want to get on with their lives.”
The development of a new pier in Doolin had looked set to go ahead two years ago after Clare County Council granted Part 8 planning permission for the development. This decision was challenged by a number of surfing organisation, including the Lahinch based West Coast Surf Club, who believe the damage a famous surfing wave in Doolin.
They applied to An Bord Pleanála to force Clare County Council to complete an Environmental Impact Statement for the project before giving it the green light.