Residents want all trace of unauthorised phone mast removed

From the Galway City Tribune – Residents living beside the site of a proposed telecoms mast in Knocknacarra that was refused planning permission are demanding the area be reinstated.

This follows what were unauthorised works being carried out at the site situated in the Drom Óir estate – commenced in advance of a planning application that city planners ruled out in July of last year.

A warning letter was issued by Galway City Council to Eircom – the company behind the mast – last month seeking the removal of the unauthorised concrete foundation which was installed in April 2021.

Local area councillor Donal Lyons (Ind) told the Galway City Tribune he has had several representations from residents in both Drom Óir and Leitir Burca concerned that the company is stalling in order to lodge another application.

“An application for retention on the site was refused by the Council last July and a warning letter has since been issued seeking the removal of the concrete base.

“This was an unauthorised development and it is incumbent on Eircom to remove it and return the ground to how it was before they started,” said Cllr Lyons.

In June of last year – amid mounting opposition from locals to the 12-metre mast – Eircom lodged an application for retention.

Planners refused on the basis that it would create a visual obstruction in a residential area and would have a detrimental impact on property prices.

Dozens of objections were submitted by local residents who described the proposed mast as an eyesore and estimated that it would devalue their properties by up to €100,000.

Cllr Lyons said the company had sought to install the mast ‘by stealth’ and having been refused – with the window for an appeal to An Bord Pleanála long since passed – it was high time the area was restored to its former status.

“The company thought all they had to do was run roughshod over the local residents but in the end, they had to make a planning application. They first sought planning permission and later had to change that to retention, because they’d already commenced unauthorised works.

“There is a fear locally that another application may be made but they have been refused permission and so they must reinstate the site to what it was. They were refused almost a year ago and they have had ample time to do it,” said the Knocknacarra-based councillor.