Appeal lodged over Enniscrone dwelling plan as neighbours submit ‘strongest possible objection’

By Philip Rooney, The Sligo Champion

An appeal has been lodged with An Coimisiun Pleanala following Sligo County Council’s decision to grant planning permission to Michael and Aoife Culkin for the construction of a single storey house.

The application also seeks approval for the erection of a detached garage and the provision of all other site excavation, infrastructural and site development works above and below ground, including new waste water treatment system and percolation area at Carrownurlar, Enniscrone.

Lodging their submission to Sligo County Council, appellants Gary and Lorraine O’Neill said they were registering their “strongest possible objection” to the planning application.

Objections to the development were raised under five separate headings: failure to meet spatial requirements of policy SP-S-10; Disputing the applicant’s’ characterisation of the subject site as ‘a greenfield infill site’; Failure to meet the integration; consequent loss of privacy and objection to placing the sewage system right next to my fence when the applicant has a huge area of unused land’.

The Sligo County Council Planner’s Appeal Report addresses a number of the issues raised by Mr and Mrs O’Neill in their submission.

The proposed development was assessed in accordance with the provisions of the County Development Plan 2024 – 2030.

The report also responded to the issue raised In relation to “Formally mapping a vehicle corridor through the front building plot to access a gate into the back plot clearly proves that this project is a fragmentation of active agricultural land.”

In reply the report from the Planner noted, “The laneway provides access to the lands to rear which is commonplace in a rural area. In the interest of traffic safety, the proposal to provide one vehicular access to the dwelling and the land to the rear is preferable to the provision of two vehicular access points.”

The issue of “Absence of Sterilisation Controls” was also raised by the appellants with the Planner noting, “The subject site is not located on the edge of a town or city, the proposed development does not warrant a highly exceptional circumstance and given that the applicant has no other road frontage on which to develop, a land sterilisation condition is not warranted in this instance.”

An Coimisiún Pleanála have indicated a decision will be made by Januray 18, 2027.

Article Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.