Councillors vote for court battle with planning minister

Councillors from North Cork have voted almost unanimously for a council court battle against a ministerial order preventing a massive €100m retail centre in the east of the county.

The vote was taken after a lengthy debate on the merits of such an action at last week’s full meeting of Cork County Council.

Councillor Deirdre O’Brien was the only Fermoy Municipal District Councillor who voted against such a move. She told TheAvondhu after the meeting that her decision was based on her belief that retail businesses in North Cork should be protected.

The vote was carried 46 to six, with no abstentions - the action is billed as a way to buttress councillor’s planning powers.

While many councillors also said they were voting in favour of the action as they were not prepared to lose such a massive retail outlet centre. The proposed project is expected to generate 850 jobs and attract many thousands of shoppers annually.

The impasse came as Junior Minister Peter Burke, who has responsibility for planning, issued a ministerial order to not allow the project go ahead through the normal planning process.

The main driving force behind the judicial review strategy is Council Chief Executive, Tim Lucey, who obtained advice from a legal expert that there were ‘clear, substantial and weighty grounds to challenge’ the order.

‘WE MUST FIGHT FOR THE PEOPLE’

Glanworth Councillor Frank O’Flynn made an impassioned contribution during the debate.

“I have spoken a couple of times on this, it is a matter of principle, the future of Cork county and the economic future of the people we represent. We must make decisions for the future, I don’t want to be the councillor who sees the outlet centre end up in Waterford.

“There is tremendous pressure to move this project to Adare Manor, they have the horsepower, they don’t take no for an answer. There is also talk of putting it in Blarney - it is better in Carrigtwohill.

“We must fight for the people we represent, we went down the road to seek expert advice, they say we have grounds,” he said.

Cllr O’Flynn said that he supported the chief executive’s call for a judicial review, but the councillor said that there must also be other options explored to resolve the issue.