Refusal of planning permission Mallow development following Blackwater SAC Pearl Mussel ruling referred to An Bord Pleanála
THE controversial decision by Cork County Council to refuse planning permission for a 95 unit housing development in Mallow has been appealed to An Bord Pleanála.
In April of this year the council shot down the proposal by Taramount Construction Ltd for the development at Old course, Spaglen following a successful legal challenge reinstating an EU Special Area of Conservation (SAC) order protecting the Freshwater Pearl Mussel in the River Blackwater basin.
The High Court ruling essentially tied the hands of Cork County Council, leaving planners with little option but to refuse the Mallow development planning permission.
Explaining the reasoning behind their decision the authority said it was the stated objective of the Cork County Development Plan to provide protection to all designated natural heritage sites, including special areas of conservation.
They wrote that it was considered he proposed Mallow development had “the potential to contribute to adverse effects” on the Blackwater SAC and interfere with its conservation objectives including those for the Freshwater Pearl Mussel.
They concluded by saying they “were not satisfied” the development would not be contrary to an objective of the County Development Plan and requirements of the Habitats Directive as set out within the 2000 Planning and Development Act.
The ruling caused much consternation among local county councillors amid fears that the reinstatement of the River Blackwater SAC, which had been rescinded in 2018 following Government representations to the EU, would effectively block any future developments along Blackwater basin.
At the time, Cllr Gerard Murphy (FG) said it would “cause the sterilisation” of development land along the Blackwater stretching from the Kerry border, through the heart of Duhallow and North Cork as far as Youghal, as well as tributaries and streams flowing into the river.
He said that as a result of the court decision it would be necessary for the new Government to go back to the EU Commission to negotiate the reversal of the SAC designation, a process he said could months if not years.
Cork County Council chief executive Tim Lucey acknowledged it was a “very significant issue” and that authority had written to Government officials seeking a meeting on the issue.
The decision to appeal the refusal of planning permission for the Mallow development will now be viewed as a test case, with An Bord Pleanála setting a date of October 22 for its decision.