FLOODING concerns have prompted Clare County Council to seek Further Information (FI) from a company looking to build at 30-metre tower mast in the village of Quin. 

Vantage Towers are making a second attempt to secure permission for the structure, after plans for a slightly smaller structure on a different site were turned down last year by both the Council and An Bórd Pleanála.

The current application for a site at Quingardens is the subject of two objections and seven submissions of support, but County planners have now voiced their own concerns. The Council has given Vantage Towers six months to respond to three issues of concern: flood risk, the potential impact on bat habitats, and the access route to the site.

In a letter requesting FI, the Council has noted that the site is located in an area identified in the County Development Plan as ‘Flood Zone A’. “Past flood events in the locality have come within 60m of the proposed development location,” the Council’s letter stated.

“Concern is therefore expressed that the proposed development may be the subject of flooding should a severe weather event occur.” For that reason, planners have asked that a flood risk assessment be provided as well as data to confirm that the mast would be designed and constructed to withstand flooding. 

The Council has also told Vantage Towers that the site is located within the foraging range of the lesser horseshoe bat “for which the Poulnagordon Dave (Quin) SAC is designated”.

The authority has also alerted the company to the presence of a bat roost at Ballykilty around 700m south of the site. For that reason, the developer has been asked to demonstrate that the mast “will not have a significant adverse effect on the status of the European site and its associated qualifying interest features and will not negatively affect the conservation objectives or the integrity of the European sites”. Vantage Towers has been asked to engage a consultant to undertake a bat survey. A Screening for Appropriate Assessment must then be informed by the results of the bat survey. 

A third point of concern raised by planners relates to the use of an existing agricultural entrance onto the local road network to gain access to the development. Further details and clarification have been sought on specific issues of concern. 

The current application was lodged in September of 2022 after permission for a 24m lattice on a site at Quinville South was refused. Support for the latest application has come from a number of residents who cite concerns with access to mobile and broadband services, while objections have been made by Quin Heritage Group and Quin Tidy Towns.

Once Vantage Towers has responded to the FI request, County planners will update the likely date for a decision on the planning application.