Council warning halts work on pole project at telephone exchange site in Tipperary village

Construction has stopped on an alleged unauthorised telecommunications pole at Clogheen’s telephone exchange site after Tipperary County Council issued warning letters to eir and the contractors the company engaged to carry out the work.

The Council issued the warning letters on Monday, April 15 in relation to the preparation of a “foundation for the erection of a telecommunications support pole” at the eir exchange site on foot of a complaint it received on April 10.

The warning letter resulted in work being halted on the Chapel Lane site by last Wednesday, April 17.

Eir issued a statement on Monday, explaining that following consultation with Tipperary County Council, the company was made aware the telephone exchange site in Clogheen was within an Architectural Conservation Area and ceased works as soon as the issue was raised.

The telecommunications company said it “will now look to go forward with a planning application” .

The warning letter was issued after local councillor Marie Murphy alerted the Council’s Planning Section to the construction work. She had, in turn, been contacted by a number of local residents concerned about the work taking place on the site.

Cllr Murphy praised the Council for its quick action.

“The Council worked on it straight away and sent a letter to me stating it had opened a file on the case and that it was with the enforcement officer.”

She said eir was exempt from securing planning permission for a 12m mast it erected at the eir exchange site in Clerihan a few years ago.

“It’s possible eir thought the same would apply in Clogheen,” she surmised. But she pointed out the same exemption doesn’t apply to Clogheen’s eir exchange site because it’s within an Architectural Conservation Area.

Cllr Murphy organised a public meeting in St Paul’s Community Hall in Clogheen last Thursday night to give accurate information about the controversy to the local community and to update them on the action taken by Tipperary County Council.

The meeting was attended by about 40 local residents.

Cllr Murphy said she conveyed the views raised by residents at the public meeting to Council management last Friday.

The Fine Gael councillor explained eir have a month to respond to the Council’s warning letter. The company’s options are to undo the works already carried out and restore the site or prepare and submit a planning application for the proposed development.

She said residents were unhappy at the lack of public consultation eir engaged in with the local community before starting the work at the telephone exchange site that has now stopped.

If eir submits a planning application, she noted it will at least give people the opportunity to send submissions to the Council about the proposed development.

“I have been contacted by a number of people who have legitimate concerns.

“I don’t think anybody would be against putting it (the mast) in a more suitable location other than in the middle of Clogheen about 70 yards from the playground and also near the community hall

“There are also a lot of residential houses in the area. Clogheen’s biggest industry is tourism and you don’t want anything obtrusive built in the village.”

In a statement, eir explained the purpose of developing the telephone exchange site in Clogheen was to “significantly enhance mobile service, including voice and data, in Clogheen and surrounding areas.

“In line with government and Tipperary County Council telecommunications guidelines and policies, eir prefer to locate structures in facilities already developed for telecommunications, in this case the local telephone exchange,” the company explained.

The statement added that eir now intended to submit a planning application where the full proposal will be assessed by Tipperary County Council with the public allowed to submit observations.

Tipperary County Council’s Planning Section, meanwhile, explained in a statement that those issued with a warning letter have four weeks from receipt of the letter to make submissions in writing to it regarding the letter’s contents and the alleged unauthorised development.

The Council said it must decide within 12 weeks of issuing the warning letter whether to issue an Enforcement Notice.

“A planning authority, in deciding whether to issue an Enforcement Notice shall consider any complaints/representations received in relation to the development or observations made in response to the warning letter and any other material considerations,” the Council added.