This article is from page 16 of the 2008-05-13 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 16 JPG
CLARE County Manager Alec Fleming has caved into pressure from councillors and signalled he is ready to contravene the council’s own de- velopment plan to grant planning for a contentious one-off home.
Before yesterday’s council meeting CUlr Tommy Brennan (Ind) and 28 other councillors signed a motion di- recting Mr Fleming to grant planning permission to a Gerard Danagher for a one-off house near Corofin.
The special powers in the planning arena had not been invoked since ieF
Cllr Brennan initiated the Section 140 process when it appeared that the council was set to refuse Mr Dan-
agher permission.
However, ahead of yesterday’s crunch meeting, the council pub- lished a notice stating it would disre- gard its own non-local rule and give Mr Danagher the go-ahead to build his home.
The notice states that the council intends to consider granting plan- ning permission to Mr Danagher. The move materially contravenes the county development plan and defus- es a potential row between the execu- tive and councillors.
Cllr Brennan secured support from all sides of the council chamber. Those who signed the motion includ- ed Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind), Cllr PJ Kelly (FF), Cllr Madeleine Taylor Quinn (FG) and Cllr Christy Curtin
(Ind).
As part of the material contraven- tion process, interested parties have four weeks in which to make submis- SIONS.
The Department of the Environ- ment, An Taisce and a local residents are set to make submissions having already made submissions on the ap- plication before the council.
In her objection, local resident, Mary Hanrahan said there was a “‘se- rious question of fairness and justice in the pursuit of this planning appli- cation. Seeking out public represent- atives to overturn what is right and just is open to much debate.
“The devastation of floods are evi- dent around this area. We can see how vulnerable our environment
really is. But this does not seem to deter developers who are intent on getting their own way irrespective of the consequences to others. We all know the dangers of inappropri- ate dwelling sites in the vicinity of a water supply and special areas of conservation.”
Stating that development should only be allowed for local and urgent need, the submission from An Taisce claims the applicant does not comply because he is a resident of Ennis and also works there.
The Department of the Environ- ment stated that the close proximity of the site to Ballycullinan Lough and its associated fen habitat raised obvious concerns regarding the wa- ter quality.