Fenit fence not exempt from planning permission need

Fencing at the centre of a long-running dispute between some landowners on Fenit Island, Co Kerry, and local people, is not exempted from requiring planning permission, An Bord Pleanála has ruled.

However, the authority’s decision is unlikely to lead to any immediate change in access to a coastal path around the 400-acre island which has been restricted over the past four years.

Bord Pleanála has made a finding that a 2m fence, electrified in parts, around large sections of the island cannot be deemed an exempted development after the issue was referred to the authority by Keep Ireland Open.