Council takes action against TK Maxx store over planning contravention

WATERFORD County Council has commenced enforcement proceedings against a TK Maxx outlet in Waterford after An Bord Pleanála found it had contravened planning laws.

The board, in a ruling issued last week, found that TK Maxx at the Butlerstown Retail Park did not have permission to sell items such as clothes, toys and shoes because they do not meet a "bulky goods" classification.

Sixty jobs at the store are now under threat, it is feared.

An Bord Pleanála investigated the sale of items at TK Maxx, following a complaint by local developer Noel Frisby, a director of Noel Frisby Construction Ltd who has interests in the Lisduggan Shopping Centre.

The board ruled that TK Maxx, along with a Mothercare outlet that was due to open at the park, contravened planning laws, as outlets at the park can only sell items that are deemed to be "bulky".

A spokeswoman for TK Maxx yesterday said: "We are extremely disappointed by this ruling. It is a very complex situation and we are currently working to find a resolution that will be in the very best interests of our store associates and our customers in Waterford."

Director of services at Waterford County Council, Brian White, said that the council had deemed Mothercare to be within the bulky goods classification.

"We are certainly working out the options with them and are trying to reach some conclusion that will save [those] jobs."

Mr White said the options that are there for TK Maxx were to "defend the case against them in court, to apply for planning permission for retention, or to look for some alternative solution".

However, Waterford’s county councillors expressed anger at the monthly meeting of the local authority on Monday evening and passed a motion of no confidence in An Bord Pleanála.

Waterford county councillor Pat Daly said: "One job is a lot to lose at the moment, but if we can protect, in any way, sixty jobs, it is the duty of all of us here to do it."

The Mayor of Co Waterford Tom Higgins criticised Mr Frisby at the meeting. He asked Mr White: "It is a bit rich, a Kilkenny man coming in, telling us what to do, isn’t it?"

Mr White replied: "Mayor, with respect, any member of the public has a right to insist that the planning regulations are enforced."

Proposals to rezone the land were considered unlikely to succeed.

Cllr John Carey added: "I have the utmost respect for Waterford planning and I think it is high time now that we called for disbanding of An Bord Pleanála because they’re certainly not doing us any favours."

In response Cllr Damian Geoghan said: "If we go along with the proposals [for a vote of no confidence] today, what we are saying is that there should be no appeals process in this country in relation to planning."

A spokesman with An Bord Pleanála yesterday confirmed that it "ruled that TK Maxx does not have the correct planning permission for what it is proposing".

Irish Examiner

www.buckplanning.ie

Gormley to intervene in row over industrial rezoning

ENVIRONMENT Minister John Gormley is to intervene with Waterford County Council over the controversy surrounding the rezoning of plots of land in the greater Dungarvan area.

A major garda investigation is under way into alleged planning irregularities in Dungarvan, with a number of local politicians quizzed by detectives in the past fortnight.

The rezoning issues being examined all relate to planning matters over the past decade.

Yesterday, it was officially learned that the Department of the Environment is now to intervene. Officials are to write to Waterford County Council to make a specific request that they do not move ahead with proposed variations -- rezonings -- in the county development plan.

Minister Gormley believes there has been an "excess of rezoning" in the area, with a particular focus on land zoned industrial.

Concerns

He said: "I can't comment on the garda investigation. However, I and my department have had concerns going back to last year concerning some rezoning proposals, specifically the proposed rezoning of some land for industrial purposes. "I'll be asking my department to write out and engage with Waterford County Council on this issue."

It is understood that Mr Gormley will proceed to invoke Section 31 of the Planning and Development Act if the local authority fails to act on his request, meaning he can override their designations and block any proposed changes of use.

Last year Mr Gormley applied the provisions of Section 31 in order to overturn a series of rezonings ordered in Monaghan, which would have had the effect of quintupling the population of some villages.

The current garda probe was launched in early 2005, when a Waterford County Council employee raised concerns over specific planning matters with senior local authority officials.

After an internal inquiry, the matter was referred to the gardai. One person has already been charged in relation to the investigation, and a number of arrests made under anti-corruption legislation.

Senan Molony Deputy Political Editor
Irish Independent

www.buckplanning.ie

Waterford officials ruled out of zoning inquiry

THE GARDA has confirmed that an investigation into an attempt to rezone 400 acres in Dungarvan, Co Waterford, does not involve any serving council member or official, the mayor and county manager of Waterford County Council insisted last night.

Clearly angered by recent publicity surrounding the bid to change the county development plan, chairman Billy Kyne and manager Ray O'Dwyer called for the Garda investigation to end quickly.

In a joint statement, they said: "In response to the alarming amount of interest concerning the recently covered Garda investigation, Waterford County Council wishes to point out that the gardaí have advised that this investigation does not concern any county councillors, nor any member of the council's planning staff.

"The council is fully co-operating with the gardaí in their inquiries and requests that the media take a fair and balanced approach in their coverage.

"Despite this setback, the members and staff of Waterford County Council remain committed to ongoing development and job creation within the county. We urge that this investigation be concluded as speedily as possible."

The statement was released by Waterford County Council last evening.

The National Roads Authority warned that an earlier plan to rezone the lands - which differs only in the most marginal way to the latest application - would add millions to the cost of buying land needed to upgrade the Cork-Waterford road, since some of the lands run right across the proposed route.

The latest version of the plan has been strongly opposed by Minister for the Environment John Gormley, who has warned councillors that he will veto it if they insist on going ahead and approving it.

The closing date for consultations on the application - the 10th variation to the 2005-2010 Waterford County Development Plan - has been set for tomorrow.

However, a copy of the ninth application - the one objected to by the NRA - cannot be found on the council's website - even though all others are listed.

Last week Garda detectives interviewed all 28 members of Waterford County Council and Dungarvan Town Commissioners about their knowledge of the rezoning application, though the investigation is not linked to any prior planning investigation.

Some of the owners of the lands in the townlands of Killadangan, Ballygagin, Mapestown, Lackenfune, Ballinure and Middlequarter townlands affected by the rezoning application had no part in the issue and only discovered that some of their lands were included following last week's publicity.

Mr Gormley must write to the local authority outlining his objections by tomorrow, but he intends to veto any changes to the plan - which would allow industrial, retail and office developments, along with a hotel - if the council persists with the application. He is understood to be concerned that such a major change would be considered three years after it came into force and one year before planning for its successor begins.

The Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

Planning probe deepens as gardai quiz politicians

GARDAI stepped up their three-year investigation into planning irregularities yesterday, by questioning a number of politicians.

Waterford gardai questioned a number of officials in the Dungarvan area as part of their ongoing investigation into alleged planning irregularities.

The questioning was confirmed last night by the gardai but no arrests were involved.

Rezoning

A senior source indicated that all the individuals involved co-operated fully with the garda inquiry.

The politicians are understood to include members of both the county council and town council.

Several politicians were questioned without prior notice by the gardai. Detectives will now liaise over the detailed interviews which were all conducted over the past eight days.

The Irish Independent understands that the move was focussed on issues surrounding rezoning of specific plots in the greater Dungarvan area.

The rezoning issues being examined by the gardai all relate to planning matters over the past decade.

The west Waterford town -- which is home to Waterford County Council -- is one of the fastest expanding urban areas in Ireland and has witnessed dramatic development over the past decade.

The garda probe was launched in early 2005 when an individual Waterford County Council employee raised concerns over specific planning matters with senior local authority officials.

After an internal inquiry, the matter was referred to the gardai and a major investigation was launched, led by Dungarvan gardai.

To date, Waterford County Council has refused to allow an open council debate on the matter -- stressing that it would be inappropriate, given the ongoing nature of the garda inquiry.

One person has already been charged in relation to the investigation.

Gardai have made a number of arrests since 2005 in relation to their inquiry, all of which were made under anti-corruption regulations.

- Ralph Riegel
Irish Independent

www.buckplanning.ie

Gardaí speak to councillors over planning claim

GARDAÍ INVESTIGATING suspected planning irregularities have been interviewing members of Waterford County Council.

A number of councillors have been informally spoken to by gardaí in recent days, and others are expected to speak to gardaí in coming days.

The investigation relates to a planning application that was submitted to the council for approval.

Gardaí in Dungarvan have been told that a developer had offered incentives to people involved in the planning process in an effort to get a mixed-use application approved.

As an initial part of their inquiry gardaí have decided to speak to all members of the county council informally to ascertain if the developer at the centre of the allegation had offered them any incentive for voting favourably on the application.

The Irish Times understands gardaí also plan to informally interview members of Waterford City Council when the current phase of their investigation is complete.

Some county councillors last night confirmed they had been informally interviewed.

Informed sources said gardaí asked the councillors if the developer or their agents had offered the councillors foreign trips or had pledged to make investments in local projects if they voted in favour of the planning application.

It is understood a member of the public approached an elected representative and relayed the allegations.

The representative then passed the information to gardaí in Dungarvan, and an official Garda investigation was begun.

Sources stressed that the investigation was at a very early stage and it was unknown at this point if corruption or criminal charges would follow or if a file would even be submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The investigation is the latest in a series of alleged corruption matters involving the council.

In 2005 all councillors were spoken to informally by gardaí when a complaint about alleged planning corruption was made to gardaí in the county. That allegation related to suspected irregularities with Part V contributions by building developers.

Part V planning contributions are payments made by developers to local authorities in lieu of providing a portion of a development for social and affordable housing as set out in the Planning and Development Act 2000.

Separately, one former employee is currently facing charges relating to allegations of corruption in the awarding of a building contract.

Joseph Brennan, of Ceithre Gaoithe, An Rinn, last appeared at Dungarvan District Court on March 11th on a charge that in November 2002 he induced a named individual to award a kerbing contract to another man with the intention of making gain for the contractor.

The accused, who has been granted bail, has not worked with the local authority for the last two years.

He is to appear again in court on Tuesday, when a date will be fixed for hearing.

The Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

Lord Waterford seeking return of 1,900-acre demesne

Lord Waterford has asked the High Court to order Coillte to hand over the 1,900-acre (767-hectare) Curraghmore demesne in Co Waterford for allegedly allowing the estate to fall into serious disrepair in breach of the terms of its lease.
It is claimed the Curraghmore lands are valued at €7.75 million, and the cost of repair works to the estate's walls and roads, which Coillte has allegedly persistently failed to do under the lease, amounts to €10.5 million.
Mr Justice Peter Kelly yesterday granted an application by Curraghmore Estates, of which Lord Waterford is a director, to enter proceedings against Coillte Teo into the list of the Commercial Court, the commercial division of the High Court.
In the action, Curraghmore is seeking an order for possession of the Curraghmore demesne, described by Lord Waterford as significant both in terms of its architectural heritage and its ecology. Part of the lands form a candidate special area of conservation and a proposed national heritage area.
In an affidavit, Lord Waterford, of Curraghmore, Portlaw, said the Curraghmore lands were the subject of a 150-year lease made on November
15th, 1933, between John Charles de la Poer, the seventh marquis of Waterford, and the minister for agriculture.
Curraghmore Estates was the successor to the seventh marquis and, under the Forestry Act 1988, the benefit of the lease became vested in Coillte from January 1st, 1989.
He said under the lease Coillte was required to maintain and repair all walls, ditches, drains, roads and pathways on the estate but, in persistent breach of the lease, had failed to do so.
As a result, the estate walls had fallen into considerable disrepair. This was "a serious matter" as the estate walls were an integral part of the estate and contributed significantly to its architectural importance.
He said correspondence between Curraghmore Estates and Coillte from 1989 about its repairing obligations demonstrated continuing difficulties in trying to get Coillte to comply with its obligations. Promises to carry out repairs were made but not honoured.
He had secured legal advice in September 2004 and engaged a firm of consulting engineers to report on the conditions of the walls and roads. The engineers' report concluded there was very extensive damage to the internal and external walls and to the roads. The overall repair costs were estimated €10.5 million.
He said Coillte was given the report on January 14th, 2005, but failed to carry out the works specified. A forfeiture notice was served on April 21st, 2005, which required Coillte to remedy the breaches of lease within 20 months. While some remedial work were carried out, this was "limited" and "substandard". The proceedings to recover the lands were initiated.
© 2007 The Irish Times

Draft Local Area Plan for Tramore

Closing date for this is 9th February, 2007.

Here's what the Waterford Today thinks:

The recently-published Draft Local Area Plan for Tramore has many positive elements in pointing the way for the development of the county’s most populous town, states Deputy Mayor, Joe Conway.
It is a comprehensive statement of the Council’s ideas about how Tramore can grow in scope to become an even better place to live. It does not confine itself to building developments and population expansion alone – although these two elements necessarily feature prominently.
From a quality-of-life perspective, I am particularly gratified to see that there are commitments to providing a new Public Park around the area of the boating lake, and the commissioning of a new playground for the Riverstown community. These are two areas that I have lobbied hard for over the past number of years, and it is immensely satisfying to see a commitment to complete these two projects within the lifetime of the plan. I will spare no effort to see that this schema is upheld.
The Riverstown area community richly deserve this commitment and it ties in succinctly with the Council’s policy to provide quality play structures for our young people. The regret is that, through years of neglect, this has not happened sooner – but every sinew will be tautened by me to ensure delivery of this commitment.
We have had a serious deficit of open-purpose Park in Tramore for countless years now. I have been lobbying constantly with the Council to have this addressed, and now at last we have got this promise – not that it ought to happen, but that it will happen. Those who have visited the Vendée area of France will know what a beautiful feature of their coastal towns are their sea-adjacent parks, where one can stroll amidst lush greenery and have the chorus of the sea in the background. Such will be the legacy of our generation to those who come after us in Tramore.
Not everything in the Draft Plan meets with my approval. The failure to address adequately the question of a proper public transport service from outlying new areas to the Centre gives cause for concern, as it signals an acceptance that the car will continue to be king. This has serious implications for the town, and the environment.
The 15% minimum of site area for open space is, in my opinion, inadequate and will give rise to densities that the Council itself is already using as a refusal criterion for planning applications. I believe, further, that the provision to accept contributions from developers - in lieu of Open Space - begets a culture of horse-trading that can have a deleterious effect on the quality-of-life of future residents.
Fundamentally, and in the final analysis, the Draft Local Area Plan gives every person in Tramore the right to have his or her say in shaping the growth of the town. I would exhort everybody to be aware of the Plan and its provisions, and to make observations – whether of a positive or negative content. The plan can be viewed in the Library, in the Civic Offices (Tankfield) or on the Council’s website, and observations are being accepted through 9th February, 2007.

Ferry Plan devised to alleviate traffic congestion

THE car ferry company says it has devised a plan to alleviate traffic congestion in Passage East until it can move its terminal out of the village.

Passage East Car Ferry Company MD Derek Donnelly said they were hoping to arrange a meeting with the district Garda chief, Supt. Dave Sheehan, and representatives of the protestors over the next week about their proposed traffic management plan.

In the meantime, Mr Donnelly said the company was continuing to lobby to secure the go ahead for the proposed access road to the new ferry terminal site it has earmarked about a mile upriver from Passage East.

We have had a very worthwhile meeting with Wexford Co. Manager Eddie Breen and his view is that any interruption of the ferry service would be an economic disaster for south Wexford. He is throwing his full weight behind lobbying the Department of Environment for funding.”

Mr Donnelly said he was sorry the protests had flared up again and objected to the fact that they were in the form of blockades of the ferry service.

Anybody is entitled to protest about something they disapprove of and make their point. But its a different matter when you are obstructing people using the public road.

Having said that, I share the common interest of the protest group. We want to get the traffic out of the village as well.

Mr Donnelly said they were willing to fund some of the cost as well as pay for the installation of the slipway but it wouldn be economically viable or practical for them to pay for the entire project as advocated by Cllr. John Carey.

He dismissed Cllr. Careys argument that the road should be funded by the company and its main shareholder FDB Insurances on the basis that its purpose was to serve a private company.

The ferry was a vital part of the regions transport infrastructure and the cars that used their service paid €30m in road tax a year, said Mr Donnelly.

œIf you look at Waterford Airport, nobody is demanding that the airports shareholders pay the huge cost of improving its access road. This kind of infrastructure is the responsibility of central government