Council defends official's house permit

Meath County Council has defended its decision to grant planning permission to its county manager for a house on a site near Tara where a previous applicant had been turned down for approval for a similar development.

The local authority confirmed last night that Mr Thomas Dowling and his wife had been granted permission for a house at Oberstown, Skreen, last month.

The council said that the previous application for permission which had been turned down in 1993 had been "materially different".

Mr Dowling's application had been assessed on the basis of the objectives of the current (2001) county development plan.

The council said that the previous application for a house on the site was turned down in 1993 by An Bord Pleanála on the grounds that it contravened the rural housing policy of the development plan of the time, which was superseded by later plans. Mr Dowling said last night that he had had no involvement in the assessment of his planning application.

In her report on the application, the council's senior executive planner, Ms Wendy Moffett, acknowledged that neither Mr nor Mrs Dowling was an established resident or native of the area.

However, she said, a written submission accompanying their application had maintained that they had a rural background and considered themselves to be part of a rural community.

"The first-named applicant is the current Meath county manager who has been commuting for the last 21 months from his rural dwelling in Carlow," her report stated.

Mr Dowling's architect, Mr Michael Rice, had told the council that his client's circumstances were "quite unique". His client's strong preference to live a slightly more isolated life was to ensure that his family had some privacy.