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By Michelle Crean

Many people simply cannot get planning or even be considered at pre-planning stage as a result of the clearing of a local river, according to a local councillor.

At the recent meeting of Killarney Municipal District, Cllr Maura Healy-Rae tabled a motion asking if Kerry County Council has consideration to planning applications changed as a result of the clearing of the River Flesk from Loo Bridge to Gortahoosch.

She highlighted that there are a number of issues for people seeking planning here.

"Ever since the flood study was done, an entire region in the Glenflesk/Clonkeen area was deemed a flood plain regardless of the fact that some areas within this region were never flooded and were never in any remote danger of being flooded," she said. "The implications of the study were too far reaching. As a result many local people simply cannot get planning or even be considered at pre-planning stage. There are instances where applicants have been told they could build on an extension to an existing dwelling but a stand alone dwelling would not be considered."

She queried the thought process behind this approach and how an extension could be "considered less of a flood risk than a stand alone property in the same area of land".

Cllr Healy-Rae objected to the last line of the response from KCC that read: "The study found that these vegetation removal works would result in a negligible reduction in flood levels".

She also outlined that she is talking about the stage which is now at post-clearing of the river where local residents have deemed these works as a success and called for a study or assessment following this river clearing to be done to ascertain its effectiveness. She also requested a common sense approach be taken to planning applications in this area "as the flood study has had a wholly prohibitive impact on local people in this regard and in many cases unjustifiably so".