Boyle anger at rejection of hotel

An Bord Pleanála's rejection of a 120-bedroom hotel on the shores of Lough Key near Boyle, Co Roscommon, has been met with anger by local campaigners.

They claim it is the third hotel project in the area to be rejected by the board in 12 months.

However, An Taisce, one of the opponents of the spa/hotel at the Rock of Doon, said, when taken in conjunction with other recent planning decisions, this raised very serious questions about the competence of Roscommon County Council.

It said the decision exposed serious deficiencies with regard to the council's compliance with its own development plan, Irish law and EU directives on environmental impact assessment and wildlife habitats.

In its ruling, Bord Pleanála said the proposed four/five-storey hotel near the lakeshore would, because of its inappropriate design, height and mass, be an obtrusive feature in the landscape which would be highly visible from the lake and the adjoining road.

It would also impact on the architectural heritage of national monuments near the site, including the abbey on Trinity Island and Inchmacherin church on Church Island.

The proposed development would also conflict with the policies of the development plan which sought to protect Lough Key, notwithstanding recent variations to the plan.

Roscommon County Council recently voted to amend the Lough Key development plan to facilitate the project.

Local Fine Gael election candidate Senator Frank Feighan, who is chairman of the Lough Key Forest Park Action Group, called for an inquiry into the board's decision and its treatment of the north Roscommon area.

He said a €10 million upgrading of the nearby Lough Key Forest Park would be completed in two weeks and was expected to attract 200,000 visitors this year "yet we cannot seem to get a hotel in this area".

More than 3,000 people from the Boyle area signed a petition in support of the hotel project last year, while a local taskforce said unemployment in Boyle was running at 15 per cent.

The chairman of Boyle Chamber of Commerce, Paul Wynne, expressed concern at the "growing perception" that Bord Pleanála was opposed to any development near Lough Key. He said there was a danger investors and developers would stay away from Boyle.

Last year Bord Pleanála rejected proposals for a 100-bedroom hotel, 18-hole golf course and 200 holiday homes at Lough Key Forest Park, and a 22-bedroom hotel in Boyle.

Local businessman Mike Smith said there seemed to be an agenda against development in north Roscommon.

"The countryside is awash with new hotels and spas in equally scenic locations, so we have to ask why there seems to be a blind spot in relation to north Roscommon."