Resettlement scheme ends in recriminations RRI blames Clare County Council planning refusals

Rural Resettlement Ireland's programme to boost depopulated areas of west Clare by building new homes in the area has come to a halt. This follows confirmation yesterday by the organisation's director, Jim Connolly, that the building programme for County Clare is now over.

Mr Connolly said the organisation had made the move after claiming that they were being victimised by Clare County Council's planning department.

He said: "Out of the 11 applications that were lodged as part of the programme, seven were refused. We are being offered sites at very reasonable prices to build upon but we have turned the offers down because there is no point putting further planning applications before Clare County Council."

Mr Connolly said his organisation was being victimised "because of the high profile I have taken in being critical of planning matters in Ireland".

Mr Connolly is a founding member of the Irish Rural Dwellers Association (IRDA). IRDA has highlighted what it sees as bias against rural dwellers in the application of the planning laws. He said: "Planners are unaccountable and I have no hesitation is saying that we have been victimised by the council's planning department because they will take out their refusal kit to refuse applications by the organisation."

Mr Connolly said: "All of the homes that we applied for were up side roads and away from scenic areas." He added: "The planning applications that we have applied for have sometimes come as a direct result of appeals from schools to ensure that more young families are located in the area."

Out of the applications for 11 houses lodged by RRI, a total of seven houses have been refused and in the decisions, the council refused planning permission for two homes at Cross, Kilrush, two homes at Carrowreagh West, and one home at Kiltrellig, Kilbaha.

The council refused planning permission after concluding that the houses would pose an unacceptable risk to surface waters and be prejudicial to public health. The council made the rulings after stating that it could not be satisfied that the sites could be adequately treated in relation to the disposal of treated effluent. The decisions were made following recommendations by the council's senior executive chemist.

A spokeswoman for the council was unavailable for comment yesterday.

Meanwhile, in another development, even though the famous West Clare railway has been silent and overgrown on many stretches for 40 years, its special importance has resulted in Clare County Council refusing planning permission for a holiday home development on the outskirts of Lahinch.

Immortalised in song by Percy French, the 43km railway from Ennis to Miltown Malbay was closed in 1961. The line operated between 1892 and 1961 with the first sod turned on the railway by Charles Stewart Parnell in 1885. The North Clare Area Plan adopted last year now contains policies aiming at protecting the route of the West Clare railway for recreational purposes.

As a result, the council refused permission for 12 holiday homes by Ennis developer Tom O'Keeffe as the development included a number of homes that would be built over the line.

However, Mr O'Keeffe, through his planning consultants, Corey Stevens and Associates, has expressed incredulity at his plan being turned down. His appeal to An Bord Pleanála said: "It is hard to reason how this can occur as the railway line no longer exists."