Planners unravel proposal for Aran knitwear storage shed

A knitwear store’s application for a storage shed on the largest of the Aran Islands has been refused on the grounds that it would not be in keeping with the immediate area.

It was stated that the shed would have sheet metal cladding and that this would not be in keeping with surrounding vernacular stone-built buildings and whitewashed walls that can be seen from roads in the vicinity of Kilronan.

There were a couple of objections to the proposed development on the basis that it would not be in keeping with the local area and that it would have an adverse visual impact on the locality.

It was stated that the proposed development of an industrial-style building with sheet metal cladding was out of keeping with the stone structures in the immediate vicinity.

The application for the steel-based structure was submitted by Aran Islands Knitwear and Gifts but it has been rejected by Galway County Council for several reasons.

Galway County Council ruled that the development would result in overdevelopment on this sensitive site given its design, scale and siting within ‘the iconic landscape’ of the village of Kilronan.

Planners described it as being ‘out of character and incongruous’ with the existing forms and pattern of development in the vicinity.

They said that the design of the storage shed would seriously injure the visual amenities of the area because it is of a design that would be poorly related to the surrounding structures.

According to Galway County Council, to grant planning permission would interfere with the character of the landscape and would detract from the visual amenity of the area.

They said that it would militate against the preservation of the rural environment and would set an undesirable precedent for similar future development on the island.

The planning authority said that the provision of such a structure would have an adverse impact on areas of environmental importance.

Planners were also not satisfied that the proposed development of the storage facilities would result in the safe disposal of domestic effluent and could be prejudicial to public health.

It was also noted by members of the planning authority that there is a shipping container located within the confines of the site and they believed that the proposed development would potentially result in the consolidation of unauthorised development.

As one of the reasons of the refusal of planning, the local authority was not satisfied that the applicant had sufficient legal estate or interest in all of the lands of the subject site.

They felt that the applicants may not have been enabled to carry out the proposed works on the land in question, not having the sufficient legal estate or interest in the property.