Government policy on the seaside resort scheme has not been properly thought through and an explosion of holiday home developments is having a negative impact in the West, an oral planning hearing was told in Castlebar, Co Mayo, yesterday.
A proposed 18-house cluster holiday home development at Corraun, Achill, would adversely affect the social and physical environment, Cairde for Curraun, a group of local residents, told the Bord Pleanala hearing. It could also harm shellfish farms in Achill Sound, which is a designated area for aquaculture, the group said.
However, the scheme was vigorously defended by Mr John Clarke, developer and director of Corran Cottages Ltd, who was also supported at the hearing by Mr Arthur Gibney, past president of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland. The scheme, which was granted planning permission by Mayo County Council last summer, is specially designed to cater for people with disabilities.
Corraun (also known as Currane), facing Achill island, was one of the areas designated under the tax incentive scheme for traditional seaside resorts, initiated in 1995. Cairde for Currane, which was represented by Mr John Jordan SC, contends that the development proposal is wholly out of scale with the local geographic environment.
Submissions were also made yesterday by An Taisce and the North-Western Regional Fisheries Board. Ms Yvonne Scannell, barrister and planning law lecturer, represented Corran Cottages Ltd.
Speaking at yesterday's oral hearing, which was chaired by a Bord Pleanala inspector, Mr Karl Kent, Mr Sean Cannon, of Cairde for Currane, said 450 signatures had been collected for a petition against the proposed development, representing 95 per cent of households in Corraun and neighbouring Gobnahardia.
The main objections related to the density of the housing, the design, the impact of sewage on shellfish farms and the marine environment generally, and the location in an area designated under the Mayo county plan as being of special scenic importance.
A large influx of people into a small area could create a ghetto or enclave, with minimum contact with local people, Mr Cannon said. Mr Cannon, an agricultural consultant who is secretary of the local group water scheme and also runs a bed-and-breakfast, said he had never been approached by the developer. His group was concerned about a suburban-type development in a rural area, and he rejected claims that the objections were being generated by existing tourism interests.
Mr Niall Herriott, an environmental scientist, said the proposal could undermine the unique attractiveness of Corraun. Public lighting at night could disturb wildlife, and waste could affect shellfish farming. Mayo County Council should have used its discretion to insist on an environmental impact statement, he said.
Ms Deirdre Hargaden, an architect representing Cairde for Currane, said the terracing design was not in keeping with the local architecture, and the cluster effect would resemble the "Toblerone" holiday-home scheme on Achill itself. No provision had been made in the tax-incentive seaside resort scheme for local people. Already young people in Connemara were finding that they could not afford to buy property in the area due to the rise in prices caused by holiday-home developments, she said.
Mr John McHugh of Achill Tourism said the scheme threatened to alter the social and cultural life of the area. A similar threat had been posed by developments on the island in villages such as Dooagh.
Ms Siobhan Sheil, environmental officer with the North-Western Regional Fisheries Board, said the board was not making a full submission as it was concerned with the application for a discharge licence under the Water Pollution Act.
There were no performance data in relation to application of the puriflow effluent treatment system proposed by the developer for this particular type of housing scheme, she said. The board was concerned that the water quality would fall below a certain level, which might affect the aquaculture designation, she said.
Mr Brendan Munnelly, assistant planner with An Taisce, said that government policy on the seaside resort scheme had not been properly thought through. An Taisce was not objecting to the location and believed that the cluster-type development was acceptable, but this area had a tradition of one house per plot.
Mr John Clarke, farmer and developer, who was represented by Ms Yvonne Scannell BL, stressed his 35-year-association with the area and the fact that the scheme was disabled-friendly. Corraun had no tourism infrastructure. The National Rehabilitation Board had been consulted, as it lacked Irish destinations for large groups of people.
Achill's famous deserted village was a cluster-type system, and Mayo County Council had found no fault with the plans, Mr Clarke's team - which also included Ms Grainne Mallon, planning expert, and Mr Kieran Corrigan, financial consultant and director of Merlin Films - stressed. The Western Development Commission had called last week for further tax incentives for the region.
This particular design had been generated by architects over the last 15 years as a solution to the holiday-home problem, his team said. A decision is expected from An Bord Pleanala by February 20th.
