A planning application for a west Cork holiday development, which was turned down by An Bord Pleanála after appeals by the writer and film director Mr Neil Jordan and An Taisce, has been resubmitted to Cork County Council with revisions.
There has been bitter disappointment on the Beara peninsula at the failure of the application on appeal for 58 holiday homes, bar, restaurant, swimming pool and marina on the Berehaven channel at Cappaghavuckee, three miles from the fishing port of Castletownbere.
Planning permission had been granted by Cork County Council for the development, estimated to cost in the region of €10 million, at the former Wheel Inn holiday centre, which has a number of holiday homes. The Wheel Inn was a popular wedding and social venue until its closure four years ago and the new development would support other tourism ventures in the area, it was hoped.
An Bord Pleanála, however, found the proposal would be conspicuous from the channel between the mainland and Bere Island. By reason of its scale, form and bulk, the holiday home development would "constitute a visually obtrusive feature in this relatively unspoilt scenic landscape", the board found.
It contravened the policy of the county development plan for the west Cork area, which sought to direct tourist facilities and accommodation into existing developments, it found.
An article in the the Southern Star some weeks ago began: "Who the hell is Neil Jordan? That is the question being asked throughout Beara following Jordan's successful challenge." The article also dwelt on Mr Jordan's concerns about his privacy in his appeal to An Bord Pleanála. The developer Mr John Burke, from Kilbrittain in west Cork, had also expressed his disappointment.
Local radio has also featured the refusal. The chairman of Beara Action Group, Mr Denis Regan, said it had set Beara back 10 years and people west of Glengarriff were bitterly disappointed. "It was the one big chance Beara had of getting something big," he said.
The pool was to have been open to the public and the development near the golf course would have complemented new nightclubs and the renovation of a local hotel, he said. Mr Regan welcomed the submission of the new application.
An informal meeting between Mr Jordan and local development representatives is expected to take place when he visits his holiday home near Castletownbere shortly.
The new application will not include a marina, which should address the most visible factor from Bere Island, Mr Padraig Murphy, project manager said. The number of holiday homes has also been reduced to 41.