Trump Doonbeg has “put parts of west Clare through college”, a local councillor said as she took exception to a single objector living in Longford holding up plans by the US president’s resort to construct a ballroom.
Clare county councillor Rita McInerney said the current planning system where anyone from any part of Ireland can object to a development a long distance away is “ludicrous”.
Liam Madden of Convent Rd, Longford has lodged separate appeals with An Coimisiún Pleanála against two planning permissions granted by Clare County Council last month for the ballroom and other upgrades at the west Clare resort.
Described in the documents as an environmental scientist, planning consultant and legal adviser, Madden urged the appeals board in relation to the ballroom to “please refuse this nonsense”.
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The Longford man had made three separate submissions on the ballroom application when the scheme was before the county council.
Cllr McInerney said that she is disappointed that appeals have been lodged. She said the wages earned by locals from Trump Doonbeg “have put parts of west Clare through college as it is a great source of employment”.
“I along with others in the community have supported the new development and it is going to safeguard the future of the golf club,” she said. “We made our judgment call on the application by supporting it and we will have to let the planning process take its course.”
Madden said An Coimisiún Pleanála must refuse planning permission for a number of reasons.
He contends planning documentation lodged with the application doesn’t comply with the Planning and Development Act “and cannot be remedied”.
He also pointed to what he describes as the marked deterioration of the 2mm Vertigo Angustior snail at the site which, he says, can be attributed to nothing other than the development taken as a whole since its inception.
This contradicts the conclusions of a report lodged with the planning application which found that the decline of the snail at the site was due to marine erosion and habitat succession. It found that the proposed ballroom and associated works “will have no impact on Vertigo Angustior, and no mitigation or further action is required”.
Granting permission, the council included among 14 conditions a requirement, before work commenced, for the Trump Doonbeg firm, TIGL Ireland Enterprises Ltd to draw up a management plan for the snail.
In his appeal, Madden said the council attaching a condition requiring a conservation plan for the snail was “a farce”.
Commenting on the permission last month, resort general manager, Joe Russell said the scheme “represents a very important step in the continued evolution of the resort”, allowing the club to grow its weddings, corporate, incentive and events businesses.
“Crucially, this development supports our long-term strategy of transitioning the resort from a traditionally seasonal operation to a fully year-round destination,” he said
The Council received 17 third party submissions on the original plan of which 13 were in favour of the proposal.
Mr Madden has been contacted for comment.
Commenting on the issue, Joe Russell, Trump Doonbeg’s general manager, said on Thursday: “We note that the appeal means that the planning permission granted by Clare County Council is now under review by An Coimisiún Pleanála, so the precise timetable for the development will ultimately depend on the outcome and timing of that process.”
He added that “our proposed development forms part of a broader investment in the resort and the region”.
“While we cannot assume the outcome of the planning process currently before ACP, our intention, subject to planning being granted, would be to progress the development following the Irish Open once the process has been concluded,” Russell said.
