| Castletownbere Life Boat Station Appeal |
| FIE's extensive appeal against the proposed location of the RNLI Lifeboat station at Castletownbere, Co. Cork was rejected by the appeals Board - it was a day late due to postal delays during the bad weather at the New Year. No provision exists for exceptions to the rules. This is especially gutting as the Appeal includes the results of a Council file study showing that both engineers and planners were well aware of the traffic chaos at the site, and that no funds exist to put in place any solution. It is inexplicable that a development relating to emergency services could even be considered at this location. Read the (rejected) appeal. // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 05/02/2010 ( Reads : 292 ) | Comments (0) | Planning Cases |
| Castletownbere‘s Colt Rock threat |
Irish lights accused of ‘vandalism' The famous ‘Colt Rock' - a rock in the western part of Castletown's harbour with an iconic cut out sign of a young horse mounted on it many years ago - is scheduled for felling today. It was only in the last few days that some residents became aware of the plans of Irish Lights to ‘light' the rock with a navigation light to increase safety. Irish Lights have stated that in order to do this, the sign will be cut down. There is great outrage over this plan as the sign is a local icon and a good luck token for the fishing community and dates back beyond living memory. Irish Lights, who have behaved towards us with the greatest arrogance and condescension, informed us that the required Notice to Mariners was issued six weeks ago. This was not true. Minister of State Tony Killeen contacted us late Tuesday night with a copy of the notice. It was issued Monday evening, the day after we first approached Irish Lights. It gives 8 October as the day of the felling. Read the Examiner story | See their excellent picture // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 05/10/2009 ( Reads : 527 ) | Comments (0) | Planning Cases |
| OBJECTION TO ‘INEXPLICABLE' LIFEBOAT STATION LOCATION |
FIE's extensive objection to the proposed location of the RNLI Lifeboat station at Castletownbere does not object to the project itself. But the location ignores the most congested traffic pattern on the Bearhaven peninsula. FIE submission says it is ‘inexplicable' that a development relating to emergency services could ‘even be considered at this location', citing both the County Development Plan 2009 and the Bantry Area Local Plan 2005. FIE draws attention to the Government's long standing primary goal of relocating all port-based activities on the adjacent Dinish Island, an infill island developed by the State for the marine sector with excellent access for emergency vehicles, including helicopters, close proximity to the hospital and no traffic congestion. Press Release | Submission | Irish Examiner: ' West Cork lifeboat plan hits snag' // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 28/07/2009 ( Reads : 531 ) | Comments (0) | Planning Cases |
| Rockchappel Wind Turbines Objection |
Rockchapple in the north Cork Mountains is already known as the Sitka spruce capital of Ireland. Now, developers who already have permission for wind turbines in these mountains are seeking to construct a further 13. They have split these into two applications, doubling the costs for objectors. FIE is grateful to the anonymous correspondent who provided an excellent submission but who, as with so many in Ireland, felt unable to object in public. The proposed site is located in a designated Special Protection Area for the hen harrier. This developer already has permission for nearby turbines - but only on condition that a study on the interaction of the turbines and hen harriers was carried out on site. As this wind farm is not yet constructed the study can not be done. Thus the cumulative impact of these developments on the range and scale of foraging areas critical to the survival of the Hen harrier remains unknown. To grant permission now risks a developer investing in a multi-million development and subsequently being required to cease // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 29/01/2009 ( Reads : 580 ) | Comments (0) | Planning Cases |
| Annaghmore New Town Objection |
| FIE’s objection to the proposed amendment to the Cork County Development Plan to allow a new town of 3,000 people in a rural area without services or public transport and with appropriate assessment. There has been no Strategic Environmental Assessment as this would have shown that it was contrary to the Cork Area Plan updated only this year, the Southwest Regional Planning Guidelines, the Draft Development Plan, and the Manager’s Report which concludes: “That the Annaghmore proposal is generally inconsistent with the proper planning and sustainable development of the County”. Read the Objection. | And visit the resident's website. // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 13/10/2008 ( Reads : 832 ) | Comments (0) | Planning Cases |
| Nowen Hill Masts |
| FIE is opposing a Vodaphone application to retain an unauthorized mast originally planned for co-location on Nowen Hill’s existing mast. A bitter dispute involving Coillte Teo, the State Forestry Board and the mast owner which reached the Courts last year is alleged to be at the root of Vodaphone’s subsequent illegal construction of its own mast on Coillte land rather than the planned collocation. The original permission for the first mast was granted on the understanding that its capacity was sufficient to address present and future needs. FIE has failed to find any technical reasons to justify the new site. Nowen Hill is one of number of other sites in West Cork where increasing number of competing and complementary communications structures have led to ‘visual clutter’ on the skyline. Only valid planning reasons should govern planning decisions and in this case Vodaphome should be required to co-locate. // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 10/02/2008 ( Reads : 1227 ) | Comments (0) | Planning Cases |
| Tralee racecourse objection supports planners |
FIE has lodged an objection which supports the professional planning staff about the planning application to replace Tralee’s Ballybeggan Racecourse with a mixed commercial, industrial, and residential development At a pre-planning meeting the planning staff tried to explain to the developers that the site is zoned for amenity and a grant of permission would breach the County’s Development Plan. The planners told the developer that ‘in its present form the proposal contravenes the zoning of the land’ and yet the developers continued irregardless. Why? The application states that as the land is not zoned for planning they are not required to provide social and affordable housing under the Planning Act - saving them €20m - €25m. The racecourse serves dual purposes. ‘It is a valuable amenity not only for horse lovers – and the support of rural community life - but as a unique 100 acre limestone grassland enclosed by a historically important wall it is providing habitat for a range of biodiversity, including birds such as the protected and increasingly rare skylark. See our Press Release. // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 21/01/2008 ( Reads : 1193 ) | Comments (0) | Planning Cases |
| Union Hall planning appeal |
The rush of development has resulted in many out of scale multiple coastal developments that are visually intrusive and can not be supported by the infrastructure – and no where more so than in the picturesque village of Union Hall in County Cork. Here, ther Council has even given permission for an estate that blocks the long promised ‘relief road’ which would at least help the inevitable traffic congestion that comes with run-away development. Read the appeal. // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 27/12/2007 ( Reads : 1128 ) | Comments (0) | Planning Cases |
| Shannon LNG Terminal ABP Submission |
The Secretary,
An Bord Pleanala,
Marlborough Street,
Dublin 1,
15 November, 2007 By email: bord@pleanala.ie Your References: PL08 .PA0002 and PC 08.PC0002
Our References 07.000456 Re: Re: Planning application by Shannon LNG
Proposed Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) regasification terminal
Ralappane and Kilcolgan Lower, County Kerry // Read More // | |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 17/11/2007 ( Reads : 1606 ) | Comments (0) | Planning Cases |
| BALLINA EIS LETTER TO APPEALS BOARD |
An Bord Pleanala has informed us that the letter relating to this matter previously posted at this location was never received by them. We apologise to our visitors and to An Bord Pleanala. Tuesday 16 October, 2007 // Read More // | |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 04/09/2007 ( Reads : 1835 ) | Comments (0) | Planning Cases |
| 22 JULY 2007: Ballina Bridge Decision |
| FIE's request for the Planning Appeals Board [ABP] to require an Environmental Impact Assessment [EIA] for the theatre, riverside walk, amenity area, refurbishment of Arts Centre car park and bridge over the Moy Special Area of Conservation was denied by the Board. FIE is advised that the Board erred in law in accepting the Inspector's conclusion that although the proposed developments were likely to have effects on water quality in the vicinity of the site which would be significance in the context of their location in the River Moy aSAC, they would not require an EIS. The 1997 Irish regulations make it clear in Section 31 that where an activity is 'likely to have a significant effect' on a site as the Inspector concluded, there must be an appropriate assessment and this assessment must be in the form of an EIA which includes a mandatory EIS. The Board Direction made their decision 'in accordance with the Inspector's recommendation.' FIE publishes today [4 September 2007] the legal letter establishing the grounds for a Judicial review . // Read More // | |
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| Posted By the editors on 23/07/2007 ( Reads : 1213 ) | Comments (0) | Planning Cases |
| 17 JULY 2007: GLENCREE MAST REFUSED |
| Friends of the Irish Environment have welcomed the decision of Wicklow County Council to refuse permission to Meteor Mobile Communications for a 24m mobile communications mast in Glencree, an area designated as Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The Council agreed that the proposed mast would 'appear visually obtrusive thereby seriously militating against the preservation of the rural and scenic character of the landscape.'
FIE stated that the refusal represented a growing 'sense of proportion in ballancing natural amenities against development interests that has been reflected in recent mobile mast refusal by the Planning Appeals Board in Kerry and Kilkenny.
// Read More // | |
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| Posted By the editors on 17/07/2007 ( Reads : 1318 ) | Comments (0) | Planning Cases |
| 28 JUNE 2007: FIE objects to Wicklow mobile mast |
| FIE has lodged an objection to 24m mobile communications mast in an area designated as Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which intrudes on the unspoiled quality of the Wicklow National Park.
We quote a recent decision against a permission for just such a mast by the Appeals Board in County Kerry:
"In this instance the quality and uniqueness of the landscape, based on its open natural and timeless appearance, its prime amenity and conservation designations and it significance to the tourism industry not only in Kerry but to all Ireland outweighs the necessity for better mobile phone coverage which, with current technologies, require the erection of an unsightly mast in a very prominent location thereby destroying the very qualities of the landscape that make it a national treasure."
Read our Objection. // Read More // | |
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| Posted By the editors on 28/06/2007 ( Reads : 1269 ) | Comments (0) | Planning Cases |
| Glencree Mast Objection |
| The Secretary,
The Planning Authority,
Wicklow County Council
19 June, 2007
Re: Planning Application 07/1060
Date: 17 May, 2007
Development: 24m mobile communications mast
Location: Oldboleys, Glencree, Co. Wicklow
Applicant: Meteor Communications
Dear Sirs;
Friends of the Irish Environment Ltd. is a network of independent environmentalists who assists local groups and individuals to understand environmental issues and seek proper implementation of environmental and planning law which supports sustainable communities.
We write to you because we are concerned that the proposed communication mast would be an intrusive and dominate feature in an area designated as Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the Wicklow County Development Plan. // Read More // | |
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| Posted By the editors on 28/06/2007 ( Reads : 1861 ) | Comments (0) | Planning Cases |
| 25 MAY 2007: ANOTHER COASTAL VILLAGE THREATENED |
| FIE is supporting residents of Union Hall, one of the most picturesque villages along the West Cork coastline, in their opposition to 51 dwellings on a single site (including 16 two-storey houses and 27 terraced houses).
In so many coastal villages the rush of development has resulted in out of scale multiple developments that are visually intrusive and can not be supported by the infrastructure. The roads in Union Hall are tiny, and so is the village septic tank, to which this new development proposes to send its raw sewerage. Nor does the village have any spare water, an increasing problem throughout Ireland.
In the words of the many advertisements for the many properties which have been recently built 'Union Hall is an unspoilt and a largely undiscovered location, a haven of peace and tranquillity above a picturesque harbour'.
Not if this development and the others in the pipeline are allowed to proceed'
Read Our Objection // Read More // | |
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| Posted By the editors on 25/05/2007 ( Reads : 1328 ) | Comments (0) | Planning Cases |
| Union Hall Objection |
| The Secretary,
The Planning Authority,
Cork County Council,
24 May 2007
Re: Planning Reference No: 071075
Date: 23/04/2007
Description: 51 dwellings comprising of: 16no. two storey semi-detached houses, 27no. terrace houses in 9no. two storey terraces of 3 houses, 8no. terrace houses in 2no. two storey terraces of 4 houses, 2no. semi-detached garages, small treatment system to include 1no. septic tank (effluent from same will discharge to public sewer) and all associated site and drainage works including access road off public road
Dear Sirs;
We wish to object to the above development on grounds of scenic importance, effluent disposal, water supply, and traffic. // Read More // | |
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| Posted By the editors on 25/05/2007 ( Reads : 1695 ) | Comments (0) | Planning Cases |
| 16 APRIL 2007: BALLINA COUNCIL IGNORES WARNINGS |
| Ballina Town Council, who produced FIE's letter at their March Council meeting, proceeded to approve the project in spite of the Appeals Board not having determined if an EIA is necessary and in spite of the Parks and Wildlife Service's request for an Ecological Assessment!
Presenting the bemused Councillors with a raft of faxes and an EIA Scoping Document that never mentions the Habitats Directive's Guidance Document on Assessments for designated areas, and even more astonishing never mentions the word 'sedimentation' - the bridge was approved. Can the author have ever been to the site?
Read our 2nd letter to the Councillors, and our letter demolishing the EIA Scoping Document to An Bord Pleanala. The Council is now desperately hoping to fast track contracts for a pedestrian bridge, with 900,000 of Tourist Board money - that is now so far removed from the location of the Arts Centre which it was supposed to support that it is virtually useless, and which can not help but irreparably damage Ireland's finest salmon river.
// Read More // | |
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| Posted By the editors on 17/04/2007 ( Reads : 1273 ) | Comments (0) | Planning Cases |
| Letter to ABO disputing scoping document for EIA |
| The Secretary,
An Bord Pleanála,
Re: Our Request for EIS for developments proposed to be carried out by Ballina Town Council with significant effects on the environment.
Dear Sirs;
We refer to our letters of 7 and 27 March 2007 and your reply of 9 March 2007 in which you state you will be dealing with the matter under section 50(b) of the Roads Act, 1993.
Unfortunately, a decision was taken by the Council to proceed with the pedestrian bridge element of this proposal in spite of a fax received from the Department of the Environment Development Control Section informing them that an Ecological Assessment must be undertaken of the project.
// Read More // | |
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| Posted By the editors on 17/04/2007 ( Reads : 1678 ) | Comments (0) | Planning Cases |
| 2nd letter to Ballina Town Council |
| We are at a lose to understand the Councillor's decision to proceed with the project before
(1) a determination by An Bord Pleanala of the need for an Environmental Impact Assessment and
(2) in the absence of an appropriate assessment as requested by the Department of the Environment on the day of your meeting. // Read More // | |
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| Posted By the editors on 17/04/2007 ( Reads : 1720 ) | Comments (0) | Planning Cases |
| 27 MARCH: BALLINA TOWN COUNCIL VOTE CHALLENGED |
| FIE is warning Ballina Town Council of possible legal action if they proceed tonight to vote on the proposed footbridge over the River Moy. An Bord Pleanala agreed on March 9 to consider the group's request for a determination if the project requires an Environmental Impact Assessment. FIE has said that as of close of business last night, no reply had been received by the Appeals Board from the Council.
Further information received by FIE indicates that
' the tender documents for the bridge and design prepared by Ryan Hanley and Co., Galway give the length of the proposed bridge not as 75 metres but 125 metres which requires an EIS under the Roads Act, 1993, as amended,
' that Ballina Town Council has failed to provide the reasons for not requiring an EIS as required under the Planning and Development Regulations 2006 which require them to 'make the decision, including the main reasons and consideration on which the decision is based, available for inspection or purchase',
' the National Parks and Wildlife Service have not been informed of this project in spite of it being in an SAC,
' The construction of the bridge will not only require a pier in the middle of the River Moy but the construction of temporary rock armour approximately 30 metres into the River Moy. Even if the project is considered to be sub-threshold for an EIS, this will result in a significant impact on the qualifying interest of the SAC which requires assessment.
Read our letter.
And our original Press Release. // Read More // | |
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| Posted By the editors on 27/03/2007 ( Reads : 1253 ) | Comments (0) | Planning Cases |
