A second attempt to secure planning approval for a filling station in Mountbellew has been rejected by An Bord Pleanála despite the recommendation.
Last February the county council refused permission for Cahermorris Developments to alter plans previously approved plans for a development off College Road from a block of apartments and retail units to a filling station with six petrol pumps and a forecourt.
The council said that the development was on a heavily trafficked road with a mixture of vulnerable road users. The site of the project is next to a secondary school under construction.
In refusing permission the council said that this filling station would constitute a traffic hazard, and that not enough information was provided on whether the strained public sewage system in Mountbellew could handle it.
Six public submissions objecting to the project were made at the time, including from the Holy Rosary College which said it would pose a hazard to students and was more suited to the edge of town.
An appeal against the decision of the county council was lodged with An Bord Pleanála in March, arguing that a CPO has already been approved for a new sewage treatment plant and objecting to the characterisation of the project as a traffic hazard.
Three public objections to the plans were once again lodged with the higher planning authority concerned with the traffic impact on a congested road.
The inspector for An Bord Pleanála recommended that the filling station be given planning permission subject to 12 conditions.
With those in place the inspector said that “The proposed development would not seriously injure the amenities of
property in the vicinity, would not adversely impact on the visual amenity or character of the area and would be acceptable in terms of traffic safety and convenience”.
But the higher planning authority decided to refuse permission despite this recommendation, saying that the filling station would create traffic “over and above the permitted use” and endanger public safety as a traffic hazard at the junction.
