ABP rules against Brackloon Wood obstruction

RULING  The entrance to Brackloon Wood, which An Bord PleanΡla ruled was not exempted development.

Anton McNulty

Keep Ireland Open have called for the removal of a barrier blocking an entrance to Brackloon Wood, near Westport, after An Bord PleanΡla declared the obstruction was considered not to be excepted development.
The entrance to a 4km trail through the Coillte-owned wood was sealed off by a gate in 2016, which prevented the public from accessing the wood. The entrance is one of two to the woodland and is located beside a private house just off the N59, approximately 7km from Westport, on the Leenane Road.
The matter was referred to An Bord PleanΡla (ABP) by Keep Ireland Open to decide if the erection of the gate was considered to be development and if so, if it is excepted development and did not need planning permission.
The matter was referred to the planning authority after Mayo County Council said that due to the minimal nature of the work, it did not consider the closure to be development under the Planning and Development Act.
However, ABP found that the council was wrong to conclude that the works were minor in nature. The board ruled that the works at the entrance to the woods was development and as it would be likely to have significant effects on the Special Area of Conservation at Brackloon Wood, it was not excepted development.
The ruling was welcomed by Keep Ireland Open which stated that it was ‘very regrettable’ that neither Mayo County Council nor Coillte sought to do anything about the closure when it first occurred.

Enforcement proceedings
“On behalf of our local members and indeed all others who have used and love Brackloon Wood, we look forward to the immediate commencement of enforcement proceedings by the council towards the reopening of access at this location, and to the restoration of the land to its former state in accordance with the Act. We are happy to offer our full co-operation to the council to this end,” said Michael Murphy, the Honourly Secretary of the western branch of Keep Ireland Open.
Mr Murphy said Brackloon Wood is a one of the jewels of local tourism attractions and the described the closure of the entrance as ‘intolerable’ and demanded it be reopened.
The property adjacent to the woods is owned by Mary O’Malley and the ABP report stated that she asserted ownership to the lands concerned.
Coillte stated that ownership and rights over the access are currently in dispute between Ms O’Malley and Patrick O’Reilly and will be potentially subject to litigation. A notice on the Coillte website inviting access to the woods has been removed pending resolution of the dispute.
Mr Stephen O’Sullivan, the inspector with ABP, stated that on inspection to the site, a 1.5m-high wall  had been erected on the site,  preventing access from the public road.
Brackloon Wood lies along the Owenwee River and consists of 74 hectares of native oak and is classified as a semi-natural Atlantic oak woodland. Some of the oaks date back over 200 years. Coillte felled the coniferous trees planted under the oak canopy in the 1960s as part of the restoration process.