Swinford man granted wish to be buried on his own land

Swinford man granted wish to be buried on his own land


Anton McNulty

A SWINFORD man’s wish to be buried on his own lands has been granted after An Bord PleanΡla overturned a decision by Mayo County Council to refuse planning permission.
Martin Neary had wished to be buried on his land at Mullenmaooge, Swinford when he dies but his wishes seemed quashed when Mayo County Council refused him permission to develop a private burial ground on his land.
The Council said that the proposal would pose an ‘unnecessary risk’ to the quality of the ground water, and also raised concerns that allowing planning permission for the plot would set a precedent.
Mr Neary, a single man appealed the decision to An Bord PleanΡla (ABP), who after reviewing the file found that ‘there is no evidence of widespread demand for such facilities’ and a single plot would not have an impact on the water quality.
In his application, Mr Neary stated his intention for the lands were to be a private place of burial for himself only with a simple headstone erected. It is his further intention for the lands to become an area open to the public for walks, with native species trees planted throughout with gravel pathways providing access. It is his intention that the lands will never be sold or redeveloped.
Setting down the grounds of appeal, Mr Neary said his remains would be entombed in a sealed vault underground which would prevent any contamination from external water and would not allow any discharge from the vault to the surrounding grounds.
In their response, Mayo County Council said the applicant did not prove to their satisfaction that the proposal would not pose a risk to ground water and urged ABP to adopt the precautionary approach and refuse planning permission.

‘No evidence’
In her report, ABP inspector Lorraine Dockery, felt there was no evidence of widespread demand for such facilities in the general area. “It would be my opinion that the land- owner’s wish to be buried on his land at this location does not raise any issues of principle. I would be of the opinion that the proposal would be unlikely to set a precedent,” she said.
In relation to the concerns over a risk to the water quality, Ms Dockery said the Council’s concerns were reasonable but the majority of private cemeteries turned down in the past were of a large scale to this application. She said this development would have a lesser impact than sewerage effluent from a single house.
She said she was of the opinion that an appropriately sealed and tanked concrete vault would be very unlikely to have such substantial impacts on the environmental quality of the water sources as to warrant a refusal of permission.
On those grounds, Ms Dockery said she recommended that Mayo County Council’s decision be overturned and permission be granted. The board of ABP agreed with the recommendation and granted planning subject to six conditions.