This article is from page 3 of the 2006-08-08 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 3 JPG
A YOUNG west Clare man has claimed that a submission made on his planning application by the environmental watchdog An Taisce was untrue.
Stephen Considine, a native of Doonbeg, applied for planning permission on October 10 last to build a bungalow in Lislanaha, located between Bansha and Kilkee.
The 23-year-old said that he planned to build the house on the site given to him by his uncle.
However, an observation made by An Taisce, dated November 25, stated that “the development is not on any family land”, a statement that has been described by the applicant as totally untrue.
Writing on behalf of the Clare association of An Taisce, Anny Wise stated in the observation that, “The landowner is involved in a number of commercial developments and we feel that this may be such a case.”
This statement was also a cause of consternation to Mr Considine who said his uncle, the landowner, was retired. He said while his uncle worked on the buildings in England and Ireland, he did not own the companies and had never been a developer.
When contacted by The Clare People, Mrs Wise said she did not comment on individual cases but added, “we are not a decision-making authority”.
When asked about the factuality of An Taisce submissions, she said the local planning authority “are very good at checking facts.”
Meanwhile, Mr Considine feared that Clare County Council was taking as fact all of An Taisce’s submission.
“It angers me that this could be taken into consideration and, if the council say it is not, then why are they bothering with An Taisce at all?” he said.
Further observations made by An Taisce in reference to Mr Considine’s application included the submission that the development was along the main road and would encourage ribbon development “in what is a scattered community and is out of character.”
The west Clare man argued that the site was on a secondary road. An Taisce also stated that the proposed design was not in “keeping with the landscape” and the “water management may not be adequate for a four-bedroom en-suite dwelling.”
An Taisce also pointed out that the applicant was working in Shannon.
Mr Considine confirmed he was working in Shannon but the planning application was for what he hoped would be his family home and “it was not for resale”.
He withdrew the application on June 27 to reconsider the exact location of the house.