Surplus of new houses ensures planning refusals

A CHANGE of heart by several Fianna Fáil councillors resulted in three Section 140 planning motions, which seek to direct a county manager to give planning permission against his better judgement, being defeated at yesterday’s meeting of Kerry County Council, in Tralee.

Each motion failed to get the necessary 21 votes. Risks of pollution, traffic hazards and visual interference were cited by planners among the reasons for turning down the applications.

Warnings have been given about damage to Kerry’s natural environment by over development. Deputy county manager Willie Wixted said the number of houses being built in the Kerry countryside was well above the national average.

In the last eight years, 12,400 houses have been built in Kerry, with well over half being one-off.

Up to 50 Section 140 motions were tabled for one recent meeting and Kerry mayor Ned O’Sullivan had already warned that the council had been brought into disrepute by the issue.

FF whip, Cllr Paul O’Donoghue, told reporters at yesterday’s meeting that the party had decided on a six-month moratorium to give the new county manager, Martin Riordan, time to settle into his position and see how he dealt with planning matters.

“I earnestly hope we will reach a situation where Section 140s will be the exception. If not, the new year will be difficult,” Cllr O’Donoghue, a brother of Tourism Minister John O’Donoghue, said.

Most FF councillors abstained in the votes on the three motions, which were tabled jointly by Cllrs Danny Healy-Rae, Ind; Tom Fleming, FF, Brendan Cronin, Ind, and Tom Sheahan, FG. Another motion was withdrawn.

The first motion proposed that planning permission be granted for three houses, with sewage treatment units, to Denis Kelleher, at Lissyconnor, Rathmore.

Planners said one of the reasons for the refusal was that septic tanks would pose a serious risk to contamination of ground water, which the applicant proposed to use for drinking purposes.

Other reasons were the creation of traffic hazards, visual interference with the landscape and excessive housing density in a rural area.

Cllr Danny Healy-Rae, however, disagreed with the planners and said the development would be “completely inoffensive” to the area. Also it was on a link road, with two ways of getting out of the site.

The second motion was for a bungalow to be built by Helena O’Connell, at Knockeenahone, Scartaglen, and the third was for two houses by Eugene McSweeney at Mastergeeha, Kilcummin.

Mr Willie Wixted told new councillors they were not entitled to disregard advice from the council’s technical staff on matters such as traffic safety and effluent disposal.

He also pointed to senior counsel’s opinion that individual councillors could be liable in the event of accidents, after a Section 140 had been passed against technical advice.

Mr Wixted also said far more houses were being built in Kerry than were needed for the county’s population. For every increase of one in the population, two houses were being completed.

Martin Riordan is due to take up his position as new county manager on August 4.