Halfway house appeal turned down

A PLAN to develop a halfway house for recovering alcoholics have been turned down by An Bord Pleanála.

Registered charity the Clara Foundation had wanted to build a 10-bed rehabilitation and treatment centre on a field at Station Road, Millstreet, Co Cork.

More than 50 local people objected to the plan when it was first mooted, in the belief that the organisation was also planning to use the facility to treat victims of drug abuse.

They said the Clara Foundation’s mission statement showed it intended to treat people with chemical dependencies, which didn’t just encompass alcohol but also drugs.

Residents were not convinced by assurances from the organisation that it wouldn’t treat drug addicts and, therefore, wouldn’t withdraw their objections.

Cork County Council had refused planning permission and the charity then appealed it to the planning authority.

The Clara Foundation had hoped to have the facility up and running early next year. Asked last night what its plans were in light of the An Bord Pleanála decision, a spokesman said the organisation wouldn’t be making any comment.

In his report, the An Bord Pleanála inspector said the proposal would contravene the County Development Plan as the field was in a green belt zone.

He said the 2.2 hectare site was in a marshy field, and that the site couldn’t be adequately drained.

In addition the inspector said that the proposed waste water treatment system would discharge into the nearby River Finnow and this would be prejudicial to public health.