Appeal to retain solar panels on front of old Mayo church fails

THE erection of solar panels on the front of an old 19th century Church of Ireland church in Achill was described as 'incongruous' by an An Bord Pleanala inspector.

An Bord Pleanála upheld a decision by Mayo County Council not to grant retention of solar panels on the front elevation of the former Holy Trinity Church in Achill, which has been renovated into a dwelling house.

The solar panels are 31 square metres in size and encompass most of the front elevation of the building. They were deemed not exempt from development following an application in 2023 and an application for retention was made in May 2024.

Bruno Loirat and Karine Jacquesson, who own the building, lodged the appeal after Mayo County Council planners found that the solar panels were unauthorised and retaining them would 'significantly distract' from the visual and historical prominence of the former Church of Ireland church.

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The building which is located across the road from the Achill GAA pitch in Polranny is currently listed on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.

In the appeal to An Bord Pleanála, the appellants stated that they purchased the property in 2004 when it was in a state of considerable disrepair and provided a photographic chronology of works to the buildings since the granting of permission to change the use of the building into a private dwelling.

In a letter to Mayo County Council, they stated that since 2004 the property has been well maintained and they incurred significant expenditure in conserving the building and developing it as a home suitable for modern life.

They stated that the property is screened by trees, hedges and shrubs and is not visible from the public road except when one looks directly down a narrow driveway from the entrance gate.

“For energy efficiency and environmental purposes we installed the solar panels on the front facade of the building. The panels blend in perfectly due to its colour and we say that they are not noticeable from the public road. The panels also add to the protection of the front facade of the building from harsh weather,” they wrote.

Despite being advised that they could cover the whole roof with solar panels they stated that they decided against it because they had completely renovated the roof with natural slate in 2006 and felt the panels would 'interfere with the vista from the surrounding area'.

In his report to the board of An Bord Pleanála, Darragh Ryan noted that while the building is on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage it is not listed as a protected structure within the Mayo County Development Plan.

However, the inspector stated that one of the conditions of planning for the refurbishment of the building was that external finishes and materials match those of the existing building.

“The presence of solar panels, being distinctly modern in form and material, is not considered sympathetic to the historic character of the building,” he wrote in the report.

He added: “I consider the installation of solar panels on the front elevation of this building to be an incongruous addition, which undermines its architectural heritage and fails to comply with the provisions of Policy Objective BEP 4 of the Mayo County Development Plan.

“The development is also inconsistent with the conditions attached to the parent permission. Given the availability of suitable alternative locations within the site, the retention of the solar panels in their current location is not considered warranted or justified.”

Mr Ryan recommended refusing the appeal as the 'proposed retention would significantly detract from the visual and historical prominence of the former Holy Trinity Church'.

The board of An Bord Pleanála followed the recommendation and refused permission for the retention of the solar panels.