Council seeks more information on town park plan

THE planning department of Kerry County Council has requested further information from Am Spraoi - who are seeking planning permission for a proposal that would turn Dingle Town Park into a sports and leisure facility.

The request for information follows from a detailed submission by residents whose properties border the Orchard site querying, amongst other things, the boundaries of the site, the potential nuisance effect caused by flood lighting and the apparent lack of sufficient consideration given to the significance of the area as an “important archaeological and historical site”

The applicants have now been asked by Kerry County Council to comment or address if necessary the query on the proposed layout of the site and possible encroachment onto an adjoining property

As the development is taking place within the site of the medieval town of Dingle - the only walled town in Kerry - an archaeological impact assessment has also been requested. The council has also advised the applicants as well as indicating that ministerial consent is required before a development of this scale can take place in the town park.

One of the concerns raised by neighbours was the effect of the installation of four flood lights and the nuisance effect which could possibly stem from them. In response to this the Council have asked Am Spraoi for, further details on the proposed lighting, including height of the lighting structures and the dispersion of light.

The application, which was made in October by Am Spraoi Cuideachta Teoranta, includes plans to construct an all-weather playing pitch, sprint lanes, a new tennis court, boundary fences, flood lighting, a 300m jogging track with eight outdoor exercise stations, and a single storey building with changing rooms, toilets, showers, a fitness suite and a managers office on the site.

The applicants have six months to reply to the questions, which were set out by the planning office of Kerry County Council in mid December.

Photo by Declan Malone Jamie Finn at a training session with local footballers at Annascaul GAA pitch on Saturday.