Connemara vets refused permission for development due to poor soil

A WELL-known Connemara veterinary practice has been refused planning permission to develop a facility on the outskirts of Clifden because of concerns the soil type would not be capable of dealing with effluent from the development.

Western Veterinary, which has been providing veterinary care in Connemara since the 1940s, were refused planning permission by An Bord Pleanála to develop a veterinary clinic building at Ardbear located on the outskirts of Clifden.

Galway County Council had provided planning permission for the development in April 2023 but the decision was appealed to An Bord Pleanála by local residents who expressed concern regarding the impact the proposed development will have on the area.

The current Western Veterinary practice is based at the Clifden mart site within the Clifden Business Park and the new development would only serve large farm animals as well as providing treatment for horses. The applicants stated that wastewater from the veterinary facility would be disposed of to a proposed wastewater treatment system whilst water supply is available from the public watermains.

While Fergal Ó Bric, Planning Inspector with An Bord Pleanala, stated that he considered the location of the site for the use of a veterinary surgery facility to be acceptable in principle, he expressed concern regarding the soil type.

In his report, Mr Ó Bric stated that given the existence of bedrock within the subsoils and the fact that the appeal site overlies a regionally important aquifer where groundwater vulnerability is designated as 'extreme', he considered that that there is potential for untreated or partially treated waste to percolate through the free draining soils at an excessive speed and to adversely impact water quality within the underlying aquifer.

Not fully satisfied

“I am not fully satisfied that the wastewater treatment proposals would not adversely impact groundwater, and, in turn, this could adversely impact the extremely vulnerable aquifer that underlies the appeal site,” he stated.

As this was a new issue, Mr Ó Bric advised the Board to contact the different parties in the appeal of the issue in order to address it.

In a supplementary report, Mr Ó Bric was asked to address a response from the applicant who proposed to install a secondary wastewater treatment system and soil polishing filter as part of their proposals.

A revised Site Characterisation Report (SCR) was submitted to the Board by the applicants in support of their wastewater proposals.

However, Mr Ó Bric stated that he was not fully satisfied based on the original information and the revised information submitted to the Board that the wastewater treatment proposals would not adversely impact groundwater, and, in turn, 'could adversely impact the extremely vulnerable aquifer that underlies the appeal site'.

He recommended to the Board that planning be refused having regard to the soil conditions and the existence of bedrock at and/or near the surface within the appeal site and high water table, the Board could not be satisfied that 'effluent from the development can be satisfactorily treated and/or disposed of on site, notwithstanding the proposed use of a proprietary wastewater treatment system'.

The Board of An Bord Pleanála followed the recommendations of Mr Ó Bric and refused permission for the development.