This article is from page 28 of the 2008-07-15 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 28 JPG
d planning permission to Brian McGoey and Niall Cunningham to construct 75 homes in Doonbeg but insisted that they only be used as
principal places of residence.
This prompted an appeal to An Bord Pleanala, with the developers claiming that the condition is “‘oner- ous and that at least a proportion of the dwellings should be available for use as holiday homes’”’.
They state that the imposition of the condition “is not in compliance with the proper planning and development of the area”.
“It is acknowledged that there are concerns regarding the provision of further holiday homes in Doonbeg potentially resulting in the village becoming seasonally quiet. How- ever, because of the quality of the proposed scheme, it is unlikely the houses will be purchased by people who only wish to live in the area for a small portion of the year as they are suitable for people who will reside in
them on a more continuous basis eg retirement homes. This means that there will be a high rate of occupan- cy in the development throughout the year with resulting benefits for the local economy”.
The appeal also cites a policy of the West Clare Local Area Plan, which states that the provision of visitor ac- commodation should be encouraged in areas such as Doonbeg.
The developers also point out that the Local Area Plan acknowledges that there is an opportunity to expand the existing tourism base “through the provision of holiday homes and tourism related accommodation’.
‘The proposed scheme is capable of providing suitable holiday homes to cater for this shortfall and to contrib- ute to growth of the tourism product offered in Doonbeg.”