Extension of looped walk in Tipperary give approval following appeal
Planning permission for an extension of a looped walk in Tipperary has been granted following an appeal to An Coimisiún Pleanála.
Bord na Móna Energy were granted permission by Tipperary County Council to build a recreational shared cycle and walkway to connect into the existing Loch Dhoire Bhile Loop near the village of Glengoole.
The Loch Dhoire Bhile Loop walk is a 2.4km looped walk that follows bog roadways and green tracks along streams and a lakeshore on old Bord na Móna lands.
The development would include 602 metres of former rail bed, 2,859 metres along bog headlands, and 721 metres of machine access routes repurposed as a walkway. Car and bicycle parking, along with EV charging spaces, will also be provided at several gateway points.
The local access road to the site will be upgraded, while wayfinding and interpretative signage, and fencing will also be provided.
However, the grant of planning permission was appealed by Tina Dollard, Hugh Rogers, John Ryan and others who live in the area near the existing loop walk.
In their appeal, the locals say that the amount of parking would be excessive, that the developers hadn’t paid enough attention to the impact on residential amenity in the area, and that the extension would lead to excessive traffic in the area.
"The network of trails developed by the applicants in the immediate vicinity already contain two substantial car park areas within a five kilometer radius. This constitutes over-intensification in a rural area with limited supporting infrastructure,” the appeal said.
"Each of the car park areas contains 28 spaces and it is difficult to see how the provision of up to 130 spaces could be justified in such a small area,” the apellants added.
The locals also raised concerns about littering and anti-social behaviour that has taken place in the area as a result of the existing car parking facilities, and raised concerns that additional facilities would exacerbate this.
"The car park facilities that have already been developed … have already been the subject of littering and considerable anti-social behaviour.
"We are concerned that similar circumstances will occur in the proposed car park areas,” they said.
Despite these concerns, An Coimisiún Pleanála recommended that planning permission be granted for the development, subject to 10 conditions.
Included in the conditions are that the amount of parking be reduced, with eight spaces being proposed at one of the car parks, with 14 spaces at the other, and that noise and privacy screening be implemented to protect residential amenity.