A LOCAL businessman has asked the High Court for leave to challenge An Bord Pleanála's grant of planning permission to Blarney Woollen Mills for the construction of a "tourist centre" at Laragh in Co Wicklow.
The proposed development includes a craft/retail store on three floors recessed into a hill site at Laragh.
Joe O'Neill has applied for leave to challenge the decision in judicial review proceedings against the board. He lives close to the proposed development which was described yesterday by his counsel as a "tourist centre" on the edge of Laragh village. Wicklow County Council and Blarney Woollen Mills Limited are notice parties to the proceedings.
The hearing opened yesterday before Mr Justice Kevin O'Higgins and continues today.
In an affidavit, Mr O'Neill said he operated a shop which sold hand-knit woollen jumpers, natural tweeds and a range of products designed for a select market and directed to a great extent towards the tourist sector.
On becoming aware of the proposed development, he said he was immediately concerned about the impact of it on him personally and his business, as well as about the environmental impact on the village of Laragh.
He said the proposed development was a retail centre comprising a three-storey high building and surface car parking on all three levels. Vehicular access was proposed from a regional road at the eastern side of the site and the building itself would have a significant impact on the area.
He said the site was in an area of outstanding natural beauty and a large scale three-storey building would seriously interfere with the visual amenities. The site was at the eastern end of Laragh village on the road to Annamoe and Roundwood and comprised an area of about 11 acres with a 400m frontage on to a regional road.
He was also concerned about the impact of the proposed development in the context of its proximity to a number of protected structures, particularly St John's Church and Laragh Castle, both protected structures under the county development plan.
Mr O'Neill also said the development would entirely undermine and put at risk the entire business he had built up over a very long period of time.