Dismay expressed again over restaurant in the ‘no fry zone’

COUNCILLORS expressed their dismay at the granting of planning permission for a restaurant and takeaway in Greystones.

Last week Cllr Tom Fortune said angered residents were asking for the planning application to be brought back under Section 44 of the planning act because of the ‘no fry zone’ directive contained in the County Development Act.

Legal advice obtained by Wicklow County Council was read out by Chief Executive Frank Curran at Monday’s meeting.

He said: ‘Section 44 relates to an application granted but where the County Development Plan has changed since. That doesn’t apply here because the plan hasn’t been changed.’

He also revealed that An Bord Pleanála had accepted one appeal against the development.

The Council Executive had claimed that reasons to refuse the application were weak due to a precedent set in which Wexford County Council had similar restrictions on takeaways near schools.

However, Cllr Fortune rejected the comparison.

‘The An Bord Pleanála decision in Wexford in 2016 is very important. The officer said that the no fry zone area was more appropriate for a post-primary school. I don’t think it is fair or right to say that the Wexford decision set a precedent because there was a rationale behind that decision,’ said Cllr Fortune.

Cllr Derek Mitchell welcomed An Bord Pleanála’s acceptance of an appeal.

‘I wrote to the HSE as it is a health matter and asked that they submit an objection to An Bord Pleanála because no one in Greystones did because they felt the no fry zone would win. An Bord Pleanála have agreed to take an appeal from someone else so the matter will be teased out by the Bord, which is the right decision.’

Cllr Joe Behan accused the Council Executive of changing a policy adopted by the elected members. He also referenced the fact that the summer newsletter released by Wicklow County Council makes reference to the fry zone. The newsletter states “Wicklow County Council has been recognised for being the first council in Ireland to include an objective in its County Development Plan excluding any new fast food/take-away outlets from being built or from operating within 400m of schools or playgrounds”.

Cllr Behan stated: ‘So someone wrote about it in the newsletter and poor Derek Mitchell was sent off to get an award over it. It’s a complete farce and how any official can continue to defend it is way beyond me.’

Cllr Gerry Walsh also welcomed the appeal to An Bord Pleanála.

‘Once the Bord have made there decision then we could go back to the County Development Plan and make it more robust and tighter,’ he said.

Cllr May Kavanagh accused the Council Executive of making the elected members look ‘ineffective’ due to the granting of the development.

‘I was shell shocked that a decision me made in this chamber was turned on its head. It made the council look absolutely ineffective. What did we sit here for hours coming to a decision only to have it overturned by senior planners.’

Cllr Steven Matthews said the directive not to have a takeaway within a certain distance of schools was always going to be difficult to enforce.

‘It is a very difficult policy to apply because it’s not as tight as it could be. I know it was about exposure to foods high in fats but there are so may different shops out there providing fatty foods that it looks like you are singling one out over the other.’