A new cable car and visitor centre for Dursey Island on the Beara peninsula in west Cork has been approved by An Bord Pleanála (ABP), despite the reservations of its own inspector.
Cork County Council initially lodged the plans back in 2019, and they include a visitor centre, gift shop, cafe and car park in Ballaghboy on the mainland.
The original cable car, which was built in 1969, will be decommissioned and a new dual cable car system will be put in place instead.
The old cable car could only carry six people at a time, and it was used by two island inhabitants and farmers with land on Dursey. It also carried roughly 20,000 visitors to the island each year.
The new dual cable car will carry up to 15 people at a time. The number of people allowed to visit the island during the peak tourist season will be capped at 5,000 per month, as per ABP’s conditions.
Road improvement works will also take place to facilitate the project, and construction is expected to take 18 months to complete.
Initially, ABP’s inspector urged the board to refuse planning permission for the project.
Submissions were received from various groups opposing the development, citing environmental, traffic and animal welfare concerns.
BirdWatch Ireland stated that it did not agree with the project’s Natura Impact Statement, which claimed that the Chough population, a protected species of bird, would not be significantly affected by the development.
An Taisce said the increased capacity on the cable cars was “excessive”, and it would exacerbate “unsustainable private car based tourism” in West Cork.
Fáilte Ireland expressed support for the project, saying it would drive tourism in the area.
The planning inspector in the case, Patricia Calleary, recommended that ABP refuse planning permission based on environmental grounds, as well as concerns about excessive visitor numbers and increased traffic in the area.
“The scale of the development is excessive and as proposed, would enable a significant increase in visitor numbers, risking unsustainable impacts to the highly sensitive ecological environment,” she said.
However, in granting planning permission, ABP said these concerns can be mitigated by capping visitor numbers, creating a Visitor Management plan and establishing looped walking trails.
The old cable car will also be preserved, as it is part of Dursey Island’s heritage.
Speaking after planning permission was granted, Friends of the Irish Environment, who appealed against the project, expressed disappointment.
“The island is a stronghold of the protected choughs. Birdwatch Ireland and An Taisce had joined Friends of the Irish Environment in appealing the Cork County Council’s development consent.
“Projects to bring mass tourism to remote coastal regions are not compatible with sustainable development. The Board in overruling its Inspector once again undermines the integrity of the planning system as well as our native biodiversity.”