The proposed development of a new small-craft harbour in Dingle by the department has been appealed to An Bórd Pleanála.
Kerry County Council granted planning permission to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, for the small-craft harbour in Dingle.
The application received several submissions from locals, who raised concerns about the suitability and scale of the development.
The proposed development involves dredging an area of about 2.7 hectares of seabed, consisting of around 90,000 metre-cubed of clay-type material and 5,000 metre-cubed of gravel-type material.
The Department also plans to install anchoring piles, floating breakwaters, small craft-type pontoons, walkways and fingers, as well as trolley bays, toilet, facilities, and power and water kiosks.
The overall above-water area of the proposed harbour is around 26,400 square-metres.
The planning application received seven submissions which all raised issues with the development.
These included claims this represented overdevelopment, which would damage local amenities for residents of Dingle who use the existing marina.
One retired lieutenant commander in the Irish Navy, also a former harbour master in Dingle, also submitted that the location was most unsuitable, with little protection from continuous strong winds from the west.
Submissions also raised environmental concerns, and claims that there was a lack of public consultation in the area by the Department.
Kerry County Council granted planning permission for the development subject to four conditions, but this decision has now been appealed by several third parties.
The national planning body, An Bórd Pleanála will now have to decide on the application, and it’s set a deadline of 24th January next year for a decision.
