Couple face hurdle to develop stalactite tourist site

A couple who fought for 15 years to secure planning permission to develop one of the world’s largest stalactites as a tourist attraction could face another hurdle, it emerged today.

An Bord Pleanala, have accepted proposals from John and Helen Browne to transform the Pol, an Ionain cave near Doolin, Co Clare which contains the 23ft Great Stalactite.

But heritage group An Taisce revealed they have submitted a complaint to the European Commission that the environmental impact of the scheme had not been fully addressed.

The activists claimed atmospheric changes leading to higher levels of carbon dioxide would cause severe long term damage to the massive hanging structure.

A spokesman for An Taisce also said construction of a tunnel, path, or shaft 30 or 40 metres below the ground would impact on the landscape. The need for staff toilets and a canteen on site were also ignored, he said.

The EC will look at whether the Environmental Impact Statement submitted with the plan complies with the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive.

“The EIS statement did not contain enough information,” the An Taisce spokesman said.

“We are hoping this could lead to a request for further information.”

Under the current planning agreement the Browne’s must deal directly with Clare County Council to resolve six outstanding matters before the site can open. An Taisce added this would form part of their complaint.

The couple have spent more than €500,000 on the project to date and estimate they will have to fork out another €1m euro to open the cave. It is hoped the site will open to the public as early as the Autumn.

Mrs Browne said she had full confidence the planning application would stand up to European scrutiny.

“We are quite confident the people that put our environmental impact statement together are two of the best in the business,” Mrs Browne said.

“We had answered a lot of concerns and we are very relieved at the decision. It’s been a bit of a long struggle but now we’re breathing a sigh of relief.”

Planning was first granted to the couple in 1991 but lapsed following a lengthy High Court battle with a local farmer.

It was secured for a second time in 2000 from the local county council but the application was refused by An Bord Pleanala in 2001 after the Browne’s failed to complete an Environmental Impact Statement.

Almost a decade and a half from the initial application the pair have dramatically scaled back the size of the project and secured the necessary support from planners.

In the latest plan the original interpretative centre, restaurant, shop and 70 space car park have been omitted.

The Browne’s plan to ferry visitors to and from the site on special minibuses picking up people at designated points in Doolin.

A total of 12 conditions were imposed on the project by An Bord Pleanala including limiting visitor numbers to 55,000 each year. The Browne’s hope to pull in around 30,000 people a year.