Marina planning request is invalid - council

Tipperary North Riding County Council has refused to consider a planning application for a controversial marina and floating pontoons at Garrykennedy, on the southern shores of Lough Derg.

The proposal, from Waterways Ireland, was lodged on February 10th but was not subjected to the normal planning process, as the council deemed the application substandard in a number of respects.

The controversial proposal, which included a 95-metre rock causeway with a top width of approximately 4.5 metres, had already been amended after a storm of protest from locals who said it would only cater for large cruisers and would hinder the view of the lake from the village.

Garrykennedy is little more than a hamlet near Portroe on the southern shores of the lake, but its small harbour is extremely popular with the lake's boating traffic. Traditional music sessions at Garrykennedy's two pubs are frequently filled to capacity with tourists and locals.

To address problems of congestion in the harbour, Waterways sought to introduce floating moorings to provide 26 berths as well as two floating breakwaters of 55 metres and 85 metres long. Facilities for boats included sewage pump-out facilities.

A public meeting had been called for next week to discuss local reaction to the plan.

However, yesterday a spokeswoman for the county council confirmed the council's decision that the application was invalid.

She said there were three grounds for not considering the application.

These were that the description of the works in the application did not match that on the site notice and in newspaper advertisements; that the scale and dimensions of the drawings were insufficient; and that scale elevations in the drawing were insufficient.

The council concluded that it could not consider the application valid under regulations issued since the Planning and Development Act.

A spokesman for Waterways Ireland was unaware of the situation when contacted yesterday, and efforts to secure a comment were unsuccessful.

However, it is understood that Waterways Ireland intends to submit a new application for the development.

In the meantime, the council has invited the company to remove its site notice.