The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
The view comes first as council rejects planning application
KERRY County Council has once again refused to give Breanndán Ó Beaglaíoch permission to build a house in Baile na bPoc because the planning authority considers it would damage a landscape that is “a major economic asset and an invaluable amenity”
Since 2008 Breanndán has been trying without success to get permission to build a small house on his own field in his home village and he has now come to the conclusion that he would have a better chance of getting a place to live if he were a cow because farm buildings don’t have to meet such rigorous planning requirements even if they are much bigger than houses and have a greater impact on the landscape.
“I’m not looking for human rights; I’m looking for animal rights. If I were a cow I could have a 300 square metre shed but as a human I can’t build a small house. It feels like a Kerryman joke,” he said.
Breanndán has been seeking planning permission for a small house on his one-acre field in Baile na bPoc since 2008 but all of his applications have failed, principally because planners have decided a house on his exposed site would damage the landscape.
Following his most recent application, which was submitted in early February, a number of letters of support were submitted to the council including one from Camilla Dinkel who describes herself as “an in-comer who had no trouble getting planning permission some 20 years ago for a dormer bungalow in a very exposed position on the Dingle Peninsula.”
“During the Celtic Tiger the planning authorities at best turned a blind eye, at worst actively encouraged, a rash of inappropriate development throughout the peninsula... We should be grateful to people like Breandán for giving us a very good example, one of very few in the area, of a house that both fits into the landscape and is ecologically efficient,” she adds.
Breanndán’s application was also supported by a number of other people who highlight his very considerable contribution to the language and traditional culture of the Gaeltacht. In light of this, Orna Dunlevy and Bob Ó Cathail remind the council that an objective of the Kerry County Development Plan 2015 -2021 is to ‘preserve the culture and linguistic heritage of Gaeltacht areas through the settlement strategy and development objectives of this plan’.
In his planner’s report on the application Michael J Lynch notes that Baile na bPoc is categorised as a Stronger Rural Area with a “generally stable population” and a “strong rural/ agricultural base” and that in such areas it is an objective of the council to “facilitate the provision of dwellings for people who are an intrinsic part of the rural community in which they are raised”.
Mr Lynch says the planning department is satisfied Breanndán’s proposed development would comply with this objective. However, he also points out that “the proposed site is within the line of protected views and prospects [which must be conserved because they] are important to the amenity of the county and its tourist industry…”
It is on this point of conflict between the objectives of maintaining local rural communities and preserving scenic views because of their amenity and tourism value that Breanndán’s application fails. In his recommendation Mr Lynch concludes that “the proposed dwelling and associated site development works would be unduly obtrusive on the landscape and would seriously injure the visual amenities and natural beauty of the area”.
For Breanndán the council’s decision to refuse his planning application is another blow in a campaign that has been ongoing for 13 years but he is determind to fight on and is planning to lodge an appeal with an Bord Pleanála.
“Is the plan to make the place where I was born a derelict village? Wouldn’t it be better to let us live in our own family place rather than moving into estates in Dingle. Let them keep open spaces around Dingle as well – everybody needs green fields around them… There’s a question of town planning as well as rural planning involved here. I’d like to know what the overall plan is,” he said.