Rural Clare ‘has fight on its hands’ with planning regulator

A DIRECTION from the Office of the Planning Regulator requesting Clare County Council to dezone huge tracts of land for development in the Draft 2023 to 2029 Clare County Development Plan has been criticised by local councillors.

Describing a new document from the OPR as “frightening and unbelievable”, Councillor P J Kelly has urged councillors to unite to oppose the recommended changes.

Council chairman, Councillor Tony O’Brien called a meeting of councillors from different political groupings on Tuesday and requested them to discuss this issue at Municipal District level to try and establish a consensus for challenging this intervention.

While Cooraclare and Broadford have been earmarked for new waste water facilities under a proposed national scheme, Councillor Kelly noted material amendments to facilitate development have been ruled out in both locations, placing a question mark over the viability of these facilities.

Speaking at a West Clare Municipal District meeting on Tuesday, the Lissycasey councillor claimed the OPR has wrongly based its recommendations on population figures not from the most recent Census but the previous one.

He said the OPR is “blatantly suggesting” all future development in Clare will have to be in the Shannon and Limerick zone.

“We have to sit down get together and fight and ask the question why Oireachtas members allow legislation through the Dáil that has inflicted Clare with this proposal? It is crazy. We have a fight on our hands,” he said.

He questioned why councillors have spent a huge amount of time discussing zoning changes at development plan meetings only to have them removed by the OPR.

The Office has also identified a serious concern in relation to the appropriate assessment of the impact of certain material amendments on the integrity of designated European sites in accordance with the relevant environmental legislation and the National Planning Framework.

Of the amendments to residential zoning objectives in Ennis, six are also considered particularly inconsistent with national and regional objectives for compact growth and regeneration.

The Office notes that nine material amendments have been proposed to Kilrush/Cappa in the draft Plan. Of these, seven are considered particularly inconsistent with national and regional objectives for compact growth, regeneration, and proportionate growth.

The Office notes that 26 material amendments have been proposed to the small towns of Kilkee, Lisdoonvarna and Miltown in West Clare MD; Killaloe and Tulla in Killaloe MD; and Newmarket-on-Fergus in Shannon MD in Volume 3b of the draft Plan.

Of these, eleven are considered particularly inconsistent with national and regional objectives.

The Office notes that eight material amendments have been proposed to the small towns of Quin in Killaloe MD; and Ballyvaughan, Mullagh and Liscannor in West Clare MD. Of these, six are considered particularly inconsistent with national and regional objectives.

The Office notes the extensive proposed changes in land use zoning objectives proposed for Broadford and Cooraclare.

“The planning authority is aware that these small rural settlements do not have public wastewater services and, according to Irish Water, are unlikely to be provided with such services within the period of the plan even if funding is approved.

The zoning of these settlements for residential development is therefore not consistent with the National Planning Framework.

The regulator has taken issue with eight proposed material amendments concerning Broadford, six in Cooraclare and one in Kilmihil.