Council defend planning refusal

Edwin McGreal

The refusal of planning permission for a seven house development in Ballyvary, Castlebar has been firmly defended by Mayo County Council.
Councillors were critical of the refusal of the development when it came up before a recent meeting of Castlebar Municipal District in Belcarra.
Mayo County Council Senior Planner John McMyler told the meeting of the reasons for the refusal of the development, located on the Straide Road in Ballyvary.
They included that the proposed development is situated outside ‘the core facilities of Ballyvary village’ and therefore ‘may constitute random housing development in a rural area’ which would be ‘contrary to proper planning and sustainable development’ and also the development might set a precedent for such developments on national secondary roads which ‘would adversely affect the use of a national road by traffic’.
However Cllr Al McDonnell (FF) took exception to the refusal, stating that ‘the fact it is outside a village centre is not a license for refusal’ under the County Development Plan.
“The reason it has become unsustainable to live in rural Ireland is because of the exodus of people. It appears to be that the Planning office of Mayo County Council is doing its best to find a way to refuse any development that comes before it,” he said.
“Rural decline is the biggest enemy we have in this county,” he added.
Cllr Frank Durcan (Ind) said the fault lay not with planners but with the Planning Act itself.
He described the Act as ‘a disaster’ and said it ‘took power from the councillors’.
“The Planning Act is destroying rural Ireland. It’s why garda barracks and post offices are closing. The people aren’t in rural Ireland anymore and the Planning Act is the greatest hindrance to rural Ireland,” he said.
Responding, Mr McMyler said this development was outside the village core and argued the council have a 97 percent grant rate with planning applications which he said ‘you would do well to find a higher rate in the country’. Cllr Michael Kilcoyne argued that this figure does not allow for people who decide not to apply after being discouraged at the council’s pre-planning stage.
Mr McMyler said pre-planning ‘is saving people money’ in terms of the full planning application costs ‘by giving them good advice’ and is ‘a great service’.
“I wish more people would use it,” he added.
Cllr Kilcoyne added that planning restrictions which stop people building a house in rural areas unless they have a familial connection to that area are ‘wrong’.
Mr McMyler said he could not comment either way but that such restrictions were ‘national policy’.
County Secretary John Condon told the meeting that ‘applications are only ever refused when there is no other option’.
Cllr Henry Kenny (FG) excused himself from the debate as he said the development in question is near his own house.