Families frustrated by planning refusals for homes alongside N71

A WEST Cork councillor has slammed Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) for preventing farmers’ children from building homes on their parents’ lands along the N71, which he said is a ‘killer for one-off housing in rural Ireland’.

Cllr Joe Carroll (FF) raised a motion at last week’s meeting of the local authority calling on TII to review its policy on planning in relation to national roads.

He cited several examples of the children of farmers who wanted to build homes on their family lands, but were unable to do so due because TII objected to having more cars exiting from side roads onto the N71.

‘There was a time when an applicant would be allowed access through their parents’ road onto the N71, but that’s not allowed now,’ said Cllr Carroll.

‘The whole county is being sterilised and it’s a killer for one-off housing in rural Ire- land. We’re in here to keep the light on in rural Ireland and I want the Council to send a strongly-worded letter to TII requesting them to review their policies.’

His colleague Cllr Patrick Gerard Murphy seconded the motion and said that the N71 is hardly fit enough to be classed as a regional road, never mind a national secondary route.

‘It should come down to an engineering issue and if the sightline is there, then the exit should be allowed. Bring it back to the basics,’ said Cllr Murphy.

He also gave examples of locals in his area who have been refused planning, including the son of a farmer who applied for planning on his parents’ farmland despite the fact that he’s in and out of that road every day.

He also said another person was refused a house on his mother’s land on a road near the entrance to Bantry Golf Club.

Cllr Gobnait Moynihan (FF) pointed out that TII are blocking these planning applications when in fact Cork County Council are the planning authority, while Cllr Ben Dalton O’Sullivan (Ind) noted that a national body now has a veto on planning applications.

‘Our local engineers will look at sightlines and judge it, yet someone in TII can veto it, but has never been there.

We are the planning authority, said Cllr O’Sullivan.