The Gaeltacht community of Spiddal has called on Galway County Council to halt further extensive development in the village until an adequate sewage plant is installed.
A planning application for a complex involving an 82-unit "aparthotel", swimming pool, bar and restaurants should not be entertained until a sewage plant is built and the village's beach regains its Blue Flag , according to Comhairle Pobal an Spidéil.
Recently, Spiddal has been hit by a series of planning controversies mainly associated with efforts to protect the Irish language. Language impact statements must now be submitted with all housing applications, as part of the new county development plan.
Proposed construction of a housing estate on land formerly owned by Lord Killanin in the village has already been the subject of a Bord Pleanála oral hearing, over the impact on language and the environment, while the developer of an apartment complex confirmed this week he had to cut the selling price because of the language condition attached to 18 of the 29 units.
The application for the "aparthotel" was one of 236 lodged with the council in the last week of December, as developers rushed to make the end-of-year deadline for a series of property-related tax reliefs.
Mr Seán Ó Coistealbha, chairman of Comhairle Pobal an Spidéil, said the parish council welcomed any new venture but not at the expense of the environment. Last summer, Spiddal's Trá na mBalost its blue flag, and residents protested. The flag's loss came a week after the European Commission published a report showing that Spiddal's main beach was one of four in Ireland that failed to meet basic water quality standards.
Mr Ó Coistealbha said the county council had not only failed to provide proper sewage treatment, or halt development until such was provided, but had made a bad situation worse. A holding tank constructed by the local authority near the beach allows raw sewage into Galway Bay. During high tides known as "rabharta mór na n-éan", substantial quantities of pollutant material had been thrown up, he said.
Mr Ó Coistealbha said he did not blame developers for drawing up plans, but felt the onus was on the local authority. The county council should engage the community in an overall development plan for the village.
The developer of the venture was unavailable for comment yesterday, while Galway County Council said it could not comment on any individual application at this stage.
