High Court challenge looming for Ennis Town Council?

ENNIS Town Council have turned down an application to extend, by five years, planning permission for a development by Michael Lynch Ltd, despite a warning that this may result in a High Court challenge.

A site at Drehidnagower Road, Lifford, bought by the developers in 2005 for €6.7 million, is at the centre of the possible litigation.

When permission was granted for a residential development on the site, it was zoned ‘Other Settlement Land’. However, under variations of the Ennis and Environs Development Plan, part of the permission site was zoned ‘Phase 1’.

Documents lodged to the planning authority by the developer state that prior to the extension application, they were advised that the introduction of Phase 1 zoning created a “significant change” to the development plan objectives for the area and that development of any part of the site may no longer be consistent with proper planning.

Michael Lynch Ltd sought legal opinion in relation to this. According to the developer’s application for an extension, counsel acting on their behalf “observed that Ennis Town Council has, by its own actions, created a potential difficulty, by effectively drawing an arbitrary line across the lands with the potential consequence of sterilising the entire of the lands and causing significant losses to the owner”.

It adds, “Counsel observed that if Ennis Town Council maintains its current position on the matter, litigation would seem to be inevitable with potential serious financial repercussions for the council. It is with some regret that we find ourselves in potential conflict with Ennis Town Council. However, given the expenditure to date on the site, the consequences of the appropriate period not being extended are significant and we are obliged to protect our position.”

The document goes on to state, “We consider that the council erred in later separating the permission site into two different development plan zonings. However, if the purpose of phased zoning is to control the timing of residential development, we consider that this objective can be achieved by the council granting an extension for the entire permission and limiting development of the site in accordance with the phased provisions of the development plan.”

Planning permission was granted by Ennis Town Council to Michael Lynch Ltd in 2006 for a residential development on the site of 241 units, crèche and ESB substation and site works at Drehidnagower Road, Lifford, Ennis.

This was appealed to An Bord Pleanála, who reduced the number of units. Further modifications were made to the permission in subsequent years, with Ennis Town Council granting permission for the omission of units in 2011, decreasing the residential units to 100, plus 17 serviced sites.

Michael Lynch Ltd applied to extend planning permission on the site for five years, citing the collapse in demand for residential property and stating that no substantial works have been carried out on the site.

However, Ennis Town Council refused permission in July, stating there have been significant changes in the development objectives of the Ennis and Environs Development Plan for the area since the granting of permission.

The council also found that the development would be inconsistent with current ministerial guidelines and that an appropriate assessment was not carried out.