An Bord Pleanála has refused planning permission for an extension to a vacant public house in Ballintubber.
Mayo County Council previously rejected the application for the redevelopment of the premises known as Kate Kelly’s at Skehanagh.
The applicant sought an extension to the pub, as well as the development of a partially covered external courtyard area, a new vehicular entrance, new wastewater treatment system, and the use of an outbuilding for storage.
There is a two-storey public house premises on the site which is not currently trading with an apartment at first floor level. The pub is located in close proximity to the edge of the carriageway of the adjoining national N84, linking Castlebar and Ballinrobe.
The county council ruled that the proposed development would either by itself, or by the precedent it would set, adversely affect the operation and safety of the national road network.
Council planners were also not satisfied with the site assessment and the recommended wastewater treatment system.
The local authority decision was appealed to An Bord Pleanála. However, the planning board’s inspectors found in the council’s favour and turned down the appeal on two grounds.
“It is considered that the proposed development, which would result in an intensification of use of a private roadway onto the national secondary road, N84, at a point where the speed limit of 100 kilometres per hour applies, would endanger public safety by reason of a traffic hazard and the additional and conflicting traffic movements generated by the development would interfere with the safety and free flow of traffic on the public road,” stated the inspector from An Bord Pleanála.
The planning appeals board also found that the proposed development would be contrary to specific policies and objectives of the Mayo County Development Plan 2022-2028, which seek to protect and preserve the strategic function of national routes.
