Independent Ballina county councillor Gerry Ginty this week hit out at planners’ interpretation of planning guidelines at the Ballina electoral area meeting. The meeting was discussing two planning applications. Planners had cited the visual impact of the house as a reason for the refusal.
“God, are we going to have to hide away all the houses in the county?” Cllr Ginty asked. “I’ve seen some planning decisions by this council where hills have had to be taken away so people could build houses and estates and they were left with 30 foot cliffs at the back of housing estates. Unless it’s physically imposing on their neighbours, I can see no reason for applications being refused for this reason.”
The independent councillor went on to have a cut at planners and decisions they made in the past in the Ballina area. “Planners can be wrong, 30 years ago planners came into this town and planned Collins Close and St Patrick’s. I was against it then because of the way they did it. When I objected and spoke to one of those involved and pointed out that people wouldn’t be able to drive their cars up to their houses I was told ‘We don’t envisage that the people who live here will have cars’.”
With time still remaining before a final decision had to be made on the two applications that were up for discussion at the meeting, all the elected members encouraged senior planner for Mayo County Council, John McMyler, to engage in discussions with the applicants to see what sort of compromise could be reached between the applicants and the planning authority in relation to the applications.
