Minister reverses housing rezoning to protect bats
Jan O’Sullivan, the junior housing minister, has written to Clare county manager Tom Coughlan directly him to reverse, or “open-space”, a housing rezoning.
The move is in order to protect a population of the Lesser Horseshoe Bat, in a cave near to the zoning site outside Quin village.
In June, members of Clare County Council openly defied legal advice and also their county manager by allowing an area be zoned for housing beside an internationally important site for the bats.
It is one of the world’s smallest bats, weighing only between 5g and 9g, with a body length of 35mm to 45mm. It is afforded legal protection through the EU Habitats Directive.
In response to the councillors’ move, Ms O’Sullivan gave notice she would issue the direction.
It was the first time a minister had used powers under section 21 of the 2010 Planning Act to issue such a warning.
As a result, the council subjected the councillors’ housing rezoning to another round of public consultation, during which 22 councillors reiterated their reasons for the rezoning in a letter to the council.
However, the consultation period is now closed and Ms O’Sullivan has proceeded with her move to reverse the zoning decision. In a letter to Mr Coughlan, she directed the housing zoning not proceed and the site revert to open space.
She included a report showing the site had been zoned as open space, taking account of its location proximate to Poulnagordon Cave, a special area of conservation (SAC).
The report said the open space zoning was “to protect the cave from developments likely to result in habitat fragmentation or loss, light pollution and human disturbance”.
“The site is currently used for agricultural purposes and the continuation of this activity is deemed as the best course of action to protect the SAC and its bat population,” it says.
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