An Taisce has described Mayo County Council’s function as a planning authority as “negligent, substandard and in breach of EU Directives”,  following the decision by An Bord Pleanala to overturn permission for a hotel at Nymphsfield, Cong, Co Mayo.

The hotel application by Tim Regan was a two storey design with 30 en suite bedrooms and 41 suites and associated facilities including a leisure complex and 25 accommodation units in clusters.

The application site was in a wooded area north west of the village of Cong. The site incorporated Kelly’s Cave, a natural feature which has been scheduled under the National Monuments Acts because of its historical associations as well as other cave features. The development was refused because of:

• Proximity to proposed geological natural heritage area
• Irreversible impact on the geology, hydrogeology and ecology of the area
• Failure to demonstrate that the proposal “would not seriously injure”  the “number of protected species that are support by the site”
• Proximity to a salmonid spawning and nursery ground
• The proposal would “give rise to unacceptable risk of water pollution”
• “Its poor architectural quality, would detract from the quality and character of its immediate and wider setting”