When the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, murmured his few words about "magic Mayo" in Ashford Castle several weeks ago, he was gazing out on Lough Corrib. Little did he know that he might be quoted in yet another west of Ireland planning row.
For his eye must have caught the woodland of Lisloughery. Running out on to the lake south of Cong, Lisloughery peninsula is named after fairies and carpeted in trees. However, it is also home to pine marten, otter, tufted duck, mallard, coot, waterhen, mute swan and jay. Wood anemones, marsh marigolds and water lilies abound. Monks who appreciated the unique environment were superseded by landowners like the Guinness family; the Ardilaun estate is credited with planting mature specimen trees.
Coillte Teo, the State forestry company, has agreed to sell 86 acres of land on the peninsula to a Wicklow businessman. The deal is subject to planning permission from Mayo County Council for a tourism project, including a language school, sports facilities, restaurant/bar and 32 log chalets. A two-storey "administration building" will accommodate a 25-metre swimming pool, gym, saunas, sun-beds, jacuzzi, treatment rooms, shop, restaurant, bar, 20 en suite bedrooms and ancillary managerial offices.
Finalised last May, the sale by private tender is quoted as being for a price "significantly in excess" of £350,000, according to Coillte, and has the approval of its board. While the company's general policy is to sell by public competition, an exception is made where the best price can be achieved by negotiations with a special purchaser or where there is only one interested party. In such cases, an independent valuation is carried out, and the negotiation is subject to stringent controls, the forestry company says.
Coillte emphasises that it is very happy with the environmental, economic and social aspects of the proposed development, as put together by Mr Robert Porter of Shamrock Sports and Leisure after three years of local consultation. Mr Porter, who fronts a group comprising business interests in Donegal, Sligo and Cork, has a background in film, and worked as a script-writer for Walt Disney.
His £8 million plan will include an academy course for teaching golf and tennis. One of his sons is a professional golfer, and another was involved in a similar tourism scheme in east Sussex.
In his planning application, Mr Porter states that the entire development will be "compatible with the natural beauty of the site and its environs", will be enclosed within a forest surround, and will be serviced with a "new high-tech phosphate sewage treatment plant". The provision of the latter is a significant carrot for Mayo County Council. However, the local authority, which has not even begun looking at the application yet because of an insufficient site notice, says that this will not be the critical issue.
Critical factors for the main objectors, including An Taisce and the local anglers' association, are the environmental effects of such a development on a sensitive shoreline. Part of the site is located within a proposed Natural Heritage Area (NHA) under the EU Habitats Directive, according to An Taisce's national office, which has questioned the failure to submit an environmental impact statement (EIS) with the planning application.
Under current legislation, the scale, nature and location of the proposal clearly demand an EIS, according to Prof Emer Colleran, chair of An Taisce's Galway branch. She contends that the site in question contravenes the Mayo County Development Plan on several grounds, including the fact that part of it is located within an area of Special Scenic Importance.
An Taisce says that the proposed development would involve considerable felling of trees and woodland copses and would have a negative effect on fauna and flora. Other concerns include increased traffic, the impact on the views from Ashford Castle and demesne and the visual impact of log cabins.
"It would appear from the development application drawings that no attempt has been made to deviate from a standard log cabin design or to provide a holiday housing design that would be in keeping with the local vernacular architecture," An Taisce's Galway branch says. "In addition, there seems to be considerable confusion as to whether the major building on site is a hotel or administration building."
The local anglers are particularly worried about the effect of a swimming pool on the lake, and are also worried about adequate sewage treatment. However, Mr Porter says that he has met the anglers twice to allay their concerns. "I have known this area for 37 years and I used to go angling on Lough Mask," he told The Irish Times.
An Taisce accepts that the developer proposes to treat to tertiary standard, but points out that sewage plants at private developments are often poorly maintained, particularly after the first few years of operation, and those which receive a variable load are notoriously difficult to run.
Both Coillte and Mr Porter's company are anxious to dismiss what they regard as misinformation about the development. Much of the existing forestry is coniferous, comprising sitka spruce and pine planted from 1969 to the 1990s, according to Mr Porter. He says he intends to replant 1,000 hardwood trees as a screen. "Nor am I buying Lisloughery Point, which is on the lakeshore. You won't see this complex from the lake or from the road."
Mr Porter, a Yorkshireman married to an Irishwoman, says that the planned log cabins will be made of cedar, rather than pine, which is more expensive and has proved beneficial health effects. "Our theme is wood, stone and leather, and our aim is educational," he says.
As for Coillte, it rejects the suggestion that it is engaged in assetstripping. Less than 1 per cent of its total landbank has been sold off, it says, and Mr Porter had secured the backing of Cong Community Council. "There is nothing covert about this," a Coillte spokesman says. An Taisce, Galway, is not convinced. It says that the proposal runs contrary to the principles of sustainable tourism, given that it is not within the immediate vicinity of the existing population centre. "The woodlands in the vicinity of Ashford Castle were given to the State by the Guinness family and were managed as a State forest for the people of Ireland by the Forestry and Wildlife Service," it says in its submission to Mayo County Council.
"It is totally unacceptable that Coillte, presumably for financial gain, should sell a part of our limited woodland heritage to a private developer, with the inevitable consequence of limiting public access, in addition to the felling and environmental damage in this heritage area."
