Anton McNulty
Local Achill residents have lodged an objection with An Bord Pleanala expressing ‘serious concern’ about planning permission for a new development in the island’s seaside village of Keel.
Last month Mayo County Council granted Achill developer Paul McNamara permission to demolish the historic Amethyst Hotel in Keel and construct a two-storey building comprising of a public house and lounge, a shop, a self-contained apartment, one town house and car parking, subject to 23 conditions.
The Amethyst Hotel is located in the centre of the village, which is the tourist hub of the island. However, the hotel has not been in business for over 25 years.
The 21-bedroom Amethyst was one of the oldest hotels in the area. Irish artist Paul Henry stayed there when he first came to Achill in 1910. One of the conditions of the planning was that a plaque be erected noting the original Amethyst Hotel use and its connections to Henry.
The appeal against the decision to grant planning permission was lodged by Michael and Patricia Joyce, owners of the Beehive Restaurant, which is located across the road from the proposed development, and by Ann Joyce, who also owns property adjoining the development. Both parties also objected to the development when it was before Mayo County Council.
In their appeal, Michael and Patricia Joyce cited a number of reasons for objecting to the development. Among their main concerns was the perceived inadequate provision for car parking.
In the planning report compiled by senior planner John McMyler, he noted that a development of this type required 84.57 car-parking spaces. The plan allows for 27 spaces, while 20.93 car-parking-spaces credit was given for the existing hotel use. This leaves a shortfall in car parking of 36.64 spaces. Mr McMyler said a levy for the shortfall is to be applied in accordance with Mayo County Council’s Development Contribution Scheme.
However, the Joyces are claiming that the fact that the hotel has not been used for over 25 years negates any of the credits that are associated with existing or recent former uses. They claim this leaves a deficit of 60 car-parking spaces, which they said is ‘wholly unacceptable’.
“An additional 60-plus vehicles left to park ‘here and there’ in an ad-hoc manner in the immediate vicinity will cause complete mayhem,” they stated.
They said that any recent commercial-type development in Keel had to provide on-site parking, citing the planning requirements for the old Village Inn, which demanded that the entire car-parking requirement of 125 spaces be provided for within the curtilage of the site.
An Bord Pleanala is due to make its decision on the case by August 8, 2011.
