Oral hearing opens on Clare golf links plan

A Bord Pleanala oral hearing in Ennis yesterday heard that the proposed £12.5 million, Greg Norman-designed golf course at Doonbeg, Co Clare, would have a negative impact on the property of a 72-year-old local resident, Ms Teresa O'Rourke.

Ms O'Rourke, is one of four parties appealing Clare County Council's decision to grant planning permission last November to the development, which comprises an 18-hole links course; 80 holiday homes; a 51-bedroom hotel; and 368 car-parking spaces.

The other three appellants, An Taisce, the Heritage Council and the environmental network, Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE), argue that the proposal would destroy the high conservation value of an area of international importance.

Yesterday's evidence largely concerned the impact of the proposal on Ms O'Rourke's property, which is a short distance from the proposed development.

Mr Desmond Long, on behalf of Ms O'Rourke, said a proposed public road to be built as part of the plan would have a negative impact on his client through noise, disturbance and pollution.

He added that the applicant, Irish National Golf Ltd, should have considered upgrading one of the existing roads to access the site. On behalf of the applicants, Mr Bernard McHugh said the proposed road was safe and convenient, adding that to upgrade the existing roads would not be practical.

At the outset of the first day of the three-day hearing, the chairman of Doonbeg Community Development Company, Mr Francis O'Dea, supported by Father Pat Cotter and more than 100 Doonbeg residents in attendance at Temple Gate Hotel, read a statement supporting the development.

He told the board's senior inspector, Ms Oznur Yucel Finn:"The support and interest in this project in west Clare is close to 100 per cent. A recent survey by this company in an area immediately adjoining the proposed golf course indicated a 98 per cent level of support. The beach and dunes are part of our heritage. We love the area. We would never support a project which would cause it damage, because we do realise its environmental and ecological importance."

Mr O'Dea added that the project was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to regenerate the economy of the area.

The substantive issues relating to the proposal, including its visual impact, its impact on infrastructure and the issue of the Special Area of Conservation (SAC) adjacent to the proposed development site are to be examined today and tomorrow.