The community at Aghadachor in Carrigart has reacted with anger to confirmation that Donegal County Council has granted retention permission for a basement at the nearby beach activity centre.
The residents became aware of the decision last Friday and Tony McCarry, Chairman of the Action Group said they had been predicting this outcome for several months.
He said they felt their concerns had not been addressed in any serious manner in the first instance by many of those with whom they tried to engage on the matter over these past six months.
“In the circumstances none of us involved in the campaign are surprised but we will now have to look at where we go next. The fact that the Council has granted permission for the basement does not mean the battle is over… far from it,” he added.
Cllr. Ian McGarvey who has played a leading role in the campaign since last September said he is dismayed by the decision of the council’s planning department.
He said he had only returned from the USA at the weekend and he was shocked to be told by ‘a third party’ of the decision. He said he was seeking further clarification from the Council.
However he did acknowledge that the only real course of action was an appeal to An Bord Pleanala which he was actively encouraging.
The residents are meeting later this week to consider their legal options and the possibility of appealing the decsion to An Bord Pleanalla.
In a statement to the Tirconaill Tribune the Aghadachor group said: “T&G Properties have received permission to retain the unplanned basement of the Beach Activity Centre presently nearing completion at Aghadachor. The building commenced some eighteen months ago with plans which did not contain any basement. Only within the past few months did Donegal County Council Planning Department discover that a substantial basement has been built into the foundation of the building.
“An enforcement order was placed on the building by the council planning department resulting in a retention application by the developer. There were fifteen local objections to the planning retention application! The basement contains electrical, plumbing and storage facilities – all within a few metres of the beach high water mark. Planning permission was granted on 21st March.
“There is a further enforcement order in place for the removal of a grossly unsightly geo-tube running along the inner beach. At high tide the geo-tube did not prevent a tidal overflow.
“Presumably the beach has not required tidal prevention for the past hundreds of years. Shades of King Canute attempting to prevent the tide from rising and falling. A retention decision is awaited from Donegal County Council.
“A planning application for a golf driving range on the Aghadachor site has been refused on the basis of public safety.
“The Right of Way for all local people who use the beach at Aghadachor continues to be problematic. Residents within the compound have very limited access and are required to escort their visitors to and from their homes.
“Access for emergency vehicles would appear to have been overlooked – despite the statutory requirement of the Council to protect and facilitate Rights of Way within a locked up compound!
Mayor McGarvey and Councillor MrBrearty have undertaken investigative consultations with Donegal County Council,” concluded the statement.
