An Bord Pleanála has refused planning permission for a home in New Inn submitted on behalf of Mr Sean Meehan. The case has been the subject of multiple planning permission applications and enforcement proceedings after Tipperary County Council acted on a complaint of unauthorised development from a neighbour of Mr Meehan’s.
The pensioner sought permission for a home consisting of a mobile home surrounded by cladding that gave a log cabin effect that would be rendered to look like a concrete wall as per the latest application. An Bord Pleanála says the proposed home is only 28 square metres in size and that it should be 70 sq. metres to be an adequate living space, it also says the Mr Meehan has not demonstrated a social and economic need to live locally, that such a residence would injure the visual amenities of the area, would militate against the preservation of the rural environment and that granting such permission could set an undesirable precedent. The letter from An Bord Pleanála arrived on Friday December 20th. Local residents say the home, which is set back from the road, with the gable end facing the road has improved the area as the site Mr Meehan purchased had been used for illegal dumping.
Mr Meehan has an upcoming court date at Cashel Court in January as part of the previous enforcement proceedings and has previously been threatened with a custodial sentence if he did not clear the site. Mr Meehan had hoped to secure planning permission to be able to end the enforcement proceedings.
