Farmer gets permission to build shed, despite objection by priest

A priest has failed in his planning objection to a neighbouring farmer’s shed in Co Galway.

In February, Fr Christy O’Connor of Kilkerrin, Ballinasloe, Co Galway, submitted a planning objection regarding a proposed shed reconstruction and extension by farmer Joseph Mullin.

Mullin was forced to withdraw and resubmit his request for planning permission in early May, with Fr O’Connor again objecting to the development.

However, Galway County Council opted to grant planning permission for Mullins’s shed in late June, despite the priest's concerns.

This prompted Fr O’Connor to submit an appeal with An Bord Pleanála last month. This appeal has since been ruled invalid, giving Mullin the green light for shed construction.

According to the planning documents reviewed by the Irish Farmers Journal, Mullin sought permission to reconstruct and extend a loose housing shed and round bale storage slab to include a slatted tank, cubicles, feed passage and concrete apron.

Objection

In his initial objection to the shed development, Fr O’Connor argued that the original shed did not have planning permission in the first place.

“Currently, the shed gives off odours/smells and noise from the animals. This would be increased significantly by the proposed extension at this location.

“I would also like to express my worries regarding the methane gas, as it could have serious impact on my health,” he told Galway County Council in February.

The priest appears to have ramped up his objection to the shed development in May, telling his local authority that he did not want to be “crowded out with farming sheds on our doorstep”.

“We wish every success for the neighbour in question and hope that he can continue his farming development further away from our home,” Fr O’Connor said. He was joined by Eileen O’Connor, understood to be a relative, in his second planning objection.