Kerry people forced to live ‘like hobbits’ to comply with stringent planning regulations

People in Kerry are being forced to live like hobbits and to build underground and “in hollows” to comply with stringent planning regulations, a council meeting has heard.

Stated policy on building in Kerry under the new county development plan is for integration into the landscape and there is a requirement to build on lower ground rather than on elevated or exposed sites.

However, independent Councillor Maura Healy-Rae, during a meeting of the Killarney Municipal District yesterday, called on the planning authority “to desist from forcing housing applicants to build in low ground or in hollows”. She said applicants should be allowed raise floor levels “at least 3ft above ground level around them”. While they couldn’t rise too far above ground, housing applicants were also having to deal with the possibility of being refused because of flooding and percolation issues, Ms Healy-Rae explained.