Sewerage problems devalue Spanish Point homes

UP to 54 houses in a West Clare seaside resort have been seriously devalued due to a “malfunctioning” sewage treatment plant, residents have claimed. A house at Westpark, Spanish Point sold for €425,000 during the height of the economic boom in 2007 but the current guide price for a house in the estate is €150,000.

 

Householders in the mixed residential and holiday home development have claimed their dwellings have been devalued to “next to nothing” because they can’t get certification of compliance due to issues surrounding the planning permission for the sewage treatment plant.

Clare County Council was initially alerted to problems with the treatment plant shortly after its installation in January 1998.

Senior executive chemist Mary Burke expressed a number of concerns about the operation of the plant on April 5, 2000, The Clare Champion has learned.

Referring to planning conditions, she said, “Condition 32 stated the proposed effluent treatment disposal system should not be located as indicated on submitted plans; requested details of the effluent treatment system, effluent dispersal and stressed no development could commence unless final details were submitted and agreed by the council”.

Ms Burke stated, “no agreement was reached on the selection of a plant” and noted after the installation of the plant on site, the details of the plant were provided to the waste pollution licence file, which were copied to the planning file.

Her submission also observed, “The plant was operated for one holiday season only and the percolation area is blocked. It is difficult to expect that this system and the associated percolation area can serve the population of the development for the longer term”.

The council also sent Spanish Point Homes Limited a letter on March 3, 2000 expressing serious concerns regarding the adequacy of this plant in terms of its design, capacity, location and ongoing operation. The authority stated it couldn’t see the point in carrying out further work on this plant, as upgrading was unlikely to solve the problems.

Responding to enquiries in the past week, a Clare County Council spokesperson said planning permission for Westpark was granted 15 years ago and any enforcement proceedings under the Planning Acts in relation to the location of the wastewater treatment plant are now statute-barred, given the passage of time.

“The council has received a request under Section 180 of the Planning Act for the taking in charge of this development and no decision has issued in respect of same,” the spokesperson stated.

Aiden Carroll of T J Carroll Auctioneers confirmed a house at Westpark was sold for €425,000 in 2007 but the current guide price for a house in the estate is just €150,000.

Seventeen residents have submitted a long list of problems with the wastewater treatment plant as part of Clare County Council’s current review of the waste pollution licence at Westpark. None of their complaints cite any problems with the houses, which are about 450 metres from Spanish Point beach.
Spanish Point Homes (SPH) were granted planning permission to build 54 houses and site development works with provision for a treatment plant at Breaffy South, Spanish Point on June 27, 1997.

Patrick Joe Egan of SPH stated test results for the treatment plant showed it was in compliance 90% of the time. Asked about residents’ complaints, Mr Egan said all these issues have been adequately dealt with and declined to comment any further.

James Joe Burke of SPH said he understood that the company’s engineer had addressed these complaints in a report submitted to the council last year.

Wayne King, Westpark stated in a letter to the council, if he had known the stance the local authority would take he would “never have purchased his house in 2007, which as a result of all these licensing, planning and building regulation problems have virtually devalued our homes to next to nothing, which the council facilitated by neglecting to do its duty”.

Danny Mungovan, who owns and runs six houses in Westpark as tourist accommodation, claimed when the plant was being installed, he pleaded with the then chief planning officer to have a different plant type and a different location but it fell on deaf ears.

Mr Mungovan claimed the biggest problem residents face was that the bond that was put in place was “allowed to lapse after two years”.

Had this been in place, he stated the sewerage system could be finished and brought up to the standard required by planning.

“The current licence is to discharge to water. However, the plant is discharging directly to a surface water stream due to the percolation system being bypassed. This stream is also taking the discharge of other wastewater treatment plants, including the municipal plant for Miltown Malbay.”

Another resident, Tim McGillicuddy, claimed a proper inspection of this “malfunctioning” sewerage plant would have revealed serious defects in the sewer pipe network, which is allowing an intake of rainwater, leading to flooding of the treatment plant, creating a “health hazard” and unpleasant odours in warm weather.

Effluent tests completed by the council revealed 27 out of 34 samples were in compliance and seven breached the regulations from 2002 to 2006. Two licence audit and site inspection reports completed by the council in 2009 and 2010 stated the plant was in compliance with licence conditions. The inspection report completed after a site visit on April 28, 2009 stated 15 houses had inhabitants all year round and the rest were holiday homes.

It noted that effluent from the plant and the requirement to exclude storm water from the plant was in compliance. This report stated the caretaker did a “cone test” weekly, while the plant was desludged twice a year in spring and autumn, using All-Brite. In addition to a maintenance contract, the council found the percolation area was in good working order.

Another site visit report for August 18, 2010 concluded, “The plant is running well. Effluent appears clear in the final discharge point. There were no odours detected. Overall, compliance is good with daily inspection being carried out on the plant and the caretaker, John Fitzgerald, is very familiar with the plant.

“Mr Egan and Mr Fitzgerald displayed good understanding of the plant and all conditions of the licence. The treatment plant was tidy and accessible.”

In a letter to the council on June 13, 2011, Spanish Point Homes Limited solicitors, Harrison O’Dowd, Henry Street, Limerick, stated their client complied with one of the planning conditions by establishing a management company called Breaffy Management Company Limited.

“This company entered into agreements with the purchasers of houses in the development whereby the company would, following the transfer of certain common areas to the management company, manage the treatment plant.

“On July 2, 1999, our client transferred the common areas to Breaffy Management Company Limited (BMCL), who became responsible for and owner of the plant.

“Insofar as our client is not discharging any effluent in the area, our client doesn’t require a licence to discharge sewage as contemplated by the licence issued on July 22, 1999 by the council. The discharge of effluent in Westpark is being carried on by BMCL,” the letter stated.