The impending refusal of planning permission for a development at Cloonkeen, Islandeady, caused frustration to elected members of the Castlebar electoral area committee this week. The single dwelling house was turned down because it was located on a national primary route, and the NRA objected to it. Cllr Johnny Mee asked senior executive planner for Mayo County Council John McMyler if there was anything that could be done in relation to this plan. Mr McMyler responded it was not likely as the council had received a submission from the NRA on the application.
Cllr Al McDonnell spoke up saying that the NRA was having far too much input into local decision making. “The NRA is getting too involved in local decision making. We have a very competent and respected planning and engineering department in Mayo County Council who are more that capable of making these discussions for us.” Cllr Mee responded by hitting out at proposals by Minister John Gormley to enact even stricter guidelines on rural planning in Ireland calling it “the death knell for rural Ireland”.
Cllr Paddy McGuinness also hit out at the Minister for a recent statement in which Cllr McGuinness believes the Minister tried to imply that councillors are corrupt and can’t be trusted. “There seems to be a train of thought in the Minister’s mind that all councillors are corrupt in regard to planning. But in my 14 years as a town councillor and now a county councillor, I don’t think I have ever seen anything that could look like corruption by any of the councillors.”
