It's being reported that a prominent West Kerry musician has won a 15-year battle to build a house.
The Irish Examiner says that An Bórd Pleanála has granted planning permission to Breanndán Begley to build a house in his native townland of Baile na bPoc in Baile na nGall.
Kerry County Council had refused planning permission for the 50 square metre, single-storey dwelling, stating that it would be 'unduly obtrusive on the landscape', would contribute to ribbon development and would seriously injure visual amenities.
It's understood that Mr Begley has been granted planning permission by the planning appeals board to remove an existing mobile dwelling and build the single-storey building.
Mr Begley had built a wooden cabin on an articulated truck trailer after the council refused to grant him planning permission.
He said he had been threatened with an enforcement order to remove the structure, or face two years in jail or a fine of 12.6 million euro.
He accused the council's rural planning policy in West Kerry of being unfair.
In September, he erected 235 wooden crosses in his field; stating that the crosses represented the number of people who used to live in his townland.
Kerry County Council says it has never discriminated against Gaeltacht communities.
It said between March 2015 and December 2019, more than 70 per cent of planning applications to build houses in West Kerry were granted permission.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/news/munster/arid-40073501.html
