Plans for a new ballroom at the Donald Trump-owned Doonbeg International Golf Links and Hotel should be “assessed through a balanced, evidence-based approach that supports both people and snails”, a tidy towns group has said.
There are a number of mentions of the Vertigo angustior snail, a protected species, in submissions made to Clare County Council regarding the planning application by TIGL Ireland Enterprises Ltd, which operates the venue.
Doonbeg Tidy Towns said it supported the local authority in assessing the application on its “individual planning and environmental merits”. It said specialist ecological assessments indicate that the ballroom would have “no adverse effect” on the snail and its habitats.
It said the application should be “assessed through a balanced, evidence-based approach that supports both people and snails”.
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Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) said a detailed assessment of the actions taken by the hotel operator to preserve the habitat of the snail over the past decade, and a plan for its future preservation, should be required as part of any grant of approval.
The Vertigo angustior is, according to the National Parks and Wildlife Service, “dependant on stable and specific groundwater conditions”. The species, which has been lost from many sites in Ireland and the European Union, lives for little more than a year, making it “vulnerable to the effects of negative changes in wetness conditions”, it says.
Tony Lowes, for FIE, acknowledged the level of detail contained in the applications, which include “a significant amount of technical and ecological work” including environmental management plans and impact statements. He said the amount of preparatory work undertaken, especially with regard to hydrological factors, represents an “important step forward”.
However, the group said that while the “level of effort” involved in the submission is clear, the assessments of environmental impact submitted with the planning application for the single-storey ballroom, and the separate application for changes to the resort’s internal road system, have the effect of “obscuring” the “cumulative impact” the two developments would have.
It said the planning authority could be satisfied about flood and other risks only when the two applications are assessed together and called on the council to require such a joint report.
The applicants said the conservation status of the Vertigo angustior is currently unfavourable, and has been since 2019, but the development would have no impact on its habitat.
FIE says that given the unfavourable background, the role of the council in ensuring action is taken to prevent any further decline in numbers is “more important than ever”. It seeks a detailed programme of conservation measures to be required.
The submissions are among the small number published on the council’s website on Tuesday in relation to the proposed development, just hours before the midnight deadline for their receipt.
Most submissions were from local people or organisations who, while generally acknowledging the conservation issues, expressed support for the proposed development.
Some, such as that from local business owner Hugh McNally, expressed a belief that the development of the ballroom would boost employment in the area and provide benefits to local tourism.
In his submission, McNally said the original opening of the course in 2000 was a factor in his decision to return to Doonbeg, where he had grown up, to take over his grandparents’ bar.
“I mention this,” he wrote, “as a practical example of how major, well-managed investment in the area (as TIGL have done) can give local people the confidence to commit their lives, businesses and families to the community.”
Fianna Fáil councillor Rita McInerney said the development would have “clear knock-on effects” for suppliers and other businesses in the area. The local Men’s Shed group suggested it would help to expand the tourist season.
A decision on the planning application is due on February 24th.
