The issue of a takeaway restaurant in Castlebar operating outside the remit of its planning permission raised its head again at the June meeting of Castlebar Town Council. Independent councillor Michael Kilcoyne raised the issue as there was an application on the planning list for the retention planning permission for a premises on New Antrim Street, Castlebar. Cllr Kilcoyne queried what was the situation with the application; acting town clerk Nora Coyne told the meeting that the application had been refused.
Cllr Kilcoyne said, “Well I congratulate the manager for that decision, but this has been going on since January 2010, there was no planning permission for the premises and then in October 2010, they applied for retention and it was granted with conditions and those conditions haven’t been complied with in relation to the closing time, and now the applicant has made another application to the council. Why is it that some people can operate for 15 or 16 months without planning permission and then other people would be stopped straight away?”
Town manager Seamus Granahan told the meeting, “He has permission from a previous planning application. There is also a live application currently. If you go into the courts on this the courts are loath to impose a decision on it, while there is a live application. The process can be used by people to circumvent the planning regulations”.
“No regard for the implementation of planning laws” - Durcan
Independent councillor Frank Durcan also raised the issue of planning legislation at the meeting. He said, “There are signs on the roundabout at Casey’s, which is council land. If I had put them up I would have to take them down, this has been going on for 18 months. I put up a banner from my premises to another premises I own, advertising mortgages five years ago. I got two solicitors’ letters within two weeks of it and I had to take it down. There is no regard for the implementation of the planning laws in this town”. Mr Granahan told Cllr Durcan, “I accept that it should have been taken down by now”.
