Donald Trump’s plans to build a ballroom at his Doonbeg golf resort in west Clare are moving at a snail’s pace – thanks to an objector who lives nearly 200km away.
Liam Madden from Longford has lodged appeals with An Coimisiún Pleanála (ACP) against two separate planning permissions granted by Clare County Council last month for the ballroom and other upgrades at the hotel.
In his appeal, Mr Madden, of Convent Road in Longford town – around a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Doonbeg – has urged ACP to ‘please refuse this nonsense’.
He contends that the planning documentation lodged with the application doesn’t comply with the Planning and Development Act ‘and cannot be remedied’.
And he also pointed to what he describes as the marked deterioration of the tiny 2mm Vertigo angustior, or narrow-mouthed whorl snail – a protected species – at the site.
Mr Madden claims that the deterioration of the minuscule land snail to near local extinction can be attributed to the development.
This claim contradicts the conclusions of a report on the Vertigo angustior lodged with the planning application which found that the decline of the snail at the site is due to marine erosion and habitat succession.
Trump International Golf Links and Hotel in Doonbeg, Co. Clare, Ireland. (Ireland's Content Pool)
The report found the proposed ballroom and associated works ‘will have no impact on the Vertigo angustior, and no mitigation or further action is required’.
However, in his appeal, Mr Madden said that the council attaching a condition to the planning permission requiring a conservation plan for the tiny snail is ‘a farce’. He said that the developer is required to do this anyway.
Mr Madden’s appeal follows three separate submissions he lodged on the ballroom application when the scheme was before Clare County Council.
The appeal describes Mr Madden as an environmental scientist, planning consultant and legal adviser. Mr Madden has been contacted for comment.
General manager of Trump Doonbeg Joe Russell said yesterday: ‘We note that the appeal means that the planning permission granted by Clare County Council is now under review by An Coimisiún Pleanála, so the precise timetable for the development will ultimately depend on the outcome and timing of that process.’
He added that ‘our proposed development forms part of a broader investment in the resort and the region’.
He said: ‘While we cannot assume the outcome of the planning process currently before ACP, our intention, subject to planning being granted, would be to progress the development following the Irish Open once the process has been concluded.’
Fianna Fáil councillor Rita McInerney, who lives in Doonbeg, said the current planning system whereby anyone from any part of Ireland can object to a development a long distance away is ‘ludicrous’.
Ms McInerney said yesterday that she believes that if anyone wants to object to a development, they must be able to show that they will be materially affected by what is proposed.
She said she is disappointed that appeals have been lodged, adding: ‘I, along with others in the community, have supported the new development and it is going to safeguard the future of the golf club.’
Ms McInerney said the wages earned by locals from Trump Doonbeg ‘have put parts of west Clare through college as it is a great source of employment’.
She said: ‘We made our judgement call on the application by supporting it and we will have to let the planning process take its course.’
As part of the planning permission, the council included a condition that before work commenced, the Trump Doonbeg firm, TIGL Ireland Enterprises Ltd, is to draw up a management plan for the snail.
In one of the 14 conditions attached to the permission, the council requested that Trump Doonbeg submit the Vertigo angustior management plan to the council for approval and that the plan is to include conservation management actions to restore favourable status of the snail on the lands.
The council granted planning permission for the proposal after concluding that the ballroom proposal would not seriously injure the amenities of the area or property in the vicinity.
Commenting on the permission last month, Mr Russell, general manager, said the scheme ‘represents a very important step in the continued evolution of the resort’.
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He said: ‘The ballroom will significantly strengthen our ability to grow the weddings, corporate, incentive and events markets, while complementing the scale and character of the existing property.’
Several local organisations, including Doonbeg GAA, Doonbeg’s Men’s Shed and Doonbeg Community Development Ltd, lodged submissions in support of the proposal. The council received 17 third-party submissions and 13 were in favour.
On the plan to replace existing ‘outdated’ temporary events structures, including a marquee, with the new ballroom, the planning consultants for Trump Doonbeg, Cunnane Stratton Reynolds, stated that the need for the ballroom ‘is reinforced by the socioeconomic role of Trump International Golf Links and Hotel in west Clare’.
* This article was originally published on Extra.ie.
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