Concerned residents in Ballisodare, Co Sligo, are objecting to the proposed siting of a sewage treatment plant because of its location near a historic site and its close proximity to a secondary school and a river popular for salmon and trout fishing. Georgina O'Halloran reports.
Residents' spokeswoman Ms Dina Norwood said local people were not objecting to the plant itself, but its location. They want it relocated to an industrial area.
In a letter of objection sent by the residents group to Sligo County Council earlier this month, residents said should an environmental accident happen the health of local school children and residents would be affected.
They also claimed the fragile ecosystem that draws the salmon back to the location could also be affected.
The school near the proposed plant is St Mary's College, a second-level school with a student population of 500. The site is also close to St Feichin's Abbey and graveyard, where a late medieval grave slab was discovered in 1995.
At the moment a scenic route is being constructed to encourage more tourists to visit the area, but according to Ms Norwood the presence of the proposed sewage facility would seriously detract from its potential as a tourist attraction.
Sligo County Council has already granted planning permission for the plant.
Mr Kevin Larkin, an engineer with the council, said there was no objection to the application for planning permission over the four weeks that the planning documents were put on display at the site. This notice was posted from March 5th, 2003, and the application for planning permission was also advertised in the Sligo Champion.
The public had the opportunity to make written submissions about the proposed development until April 17th.
However, residents say the community was not given enough notice about the proposed development.
"The notice did not remain up at the location for the required period of time. Most members of the community did not see the notice at all.
"It is speculated that vandals may have removed the notice from the project site," they say in their letter of objection.
Mr Séamus Concannon, director of services at Sligo County Council, said that the presence of the sewage treatment plant could only improve fishing in the area because, at the moment, the raw sewage was going directly into the sea.
He said while the proposed plant is located near a school, it will have no negative impact on it.
"It'll be a modern plant to the highest standard, and won't cause any nuisance."
A meeting has been scheduled between the concerned residents' group and Sligo County Council for August 5th.
According to Mr John Perry, a Fine Gael TD in Sligo, the council should have been in more contact with the community on the issue.
"If there are any alternative sites to this site, they should be explored as quickly as possible," he said.