Couple appeals planning for holiday home development

A HUSBAND and wife have lodged an appeal with An Bord Pleanála against the decision of Waterford County Council to grant planning permission for a €52 million hotel and holiday home development close to the resort of Clonea outside Dungarvan.

The developers, Dublin- based Greenbirch Ltd, say that the development will create 110 full-time and 43 part-time jobs.

However, Tim Foley and his wife Carrie, who live close to the proposed development at Ballinacourty, have lodged an objection to the local authority decision with An Bord Pleanála, citing a number of reasons why they believe planning permission should be refused.

In the face of local opposition to the original plan, the developers agreed to reduce the number of single storey holiday cottages from 166 to 90. However, Waterford County Council gave the planning go-ahead for the modified proposals.

The developers have reached an agreement with CIÉ for the purchase of part of a railway spur that runs through the 80,000 square metre site. However, that deal will only go through if the final planning hurdle has been cleared.

Meanwhile, the national appeals board has upheld a decision by Waterford City Council to refuse planning permission for a €5m hotel in the John Street area of the city.

The decision was appealed by brothers Darryl and Chris Kavanagh, who proposed to build the 29-bedroom hotel.

But Bord Pleanála has confirmed that the original refusal decision of the city council stands.

That original refusal was based on the conclusion by the local authority that the hotel development would seriously affect amenities in the area and would also depreciate the value of adjoining properties due to the hotel’s height, scale and design.