Appeal expected over planning refusal for Offaly soccer centre
The secretary of the Midlands Schoolboy/girls League said an appeal to An Coimisiún Pleanála is "our only option" following the recent decision by Offaly County Council to refuse planning permission for the development of a €5m underage soccer centre of excellence on a 27-acre site between Clara and Tubber.
Derek Collins said that he and his fellow Midlands Schoolboy/girls League committee members were "extremely disappointed" by the decision of the local authority, which turned down permission for the league's proposed project on February 5.
"I believe that the reasons provided by Offaly County Council to refuse our development are very weak. The decision just doesn't make any sense," Mr Collins stated.
When issuing its planning refusal, Offaly County Council said the proposal "would set an undesirable precedent for similar unsustainable forms of development in the open countryside, would negatively impact on the rural character of the area, and would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area".
Speaking to the Offaly Independent this week, Mr Collins referenced the development by Offaly GAA of the Faithful Fields as being "outside an urban setting" (in Kilcormac) and believes that the local authority should have adopted a similar thought process to the Midlands Schoolboy/girls League application.
"The majority of sporting centres of excellence are built outside of urban areas as it is impossible to buy 18-20 acres of land in a town for this kind of development," Mr Collins said.
In making its decision, the council also stated that the proposed development would "put an unnecessary burden on the local road network" and "endanger public safety by reason of a traffic hazard" based on the "projected traffic numbers associated with trainings, matches and tournaments".
The Midlands Schoolboy/girls League submitted a planning application in December for the proposed development of four playing pitches, two grass playing pitches and two pitches with a synthetic all-weather surface.
The planning application also proposed the construction of a "single-level facilities building", 865 sq m in size, which would incorporate an "entrance lobby, reception area, function room, meeting room, weight/training room, multi-purpose community room, eight changing rooms, medical/first aid room, shower and toilet facilities".
Externally, the plans sought the construction of 123 vehicle parking spaces in two on-site areas complete with a "dedicated coach/bus set down area".
The league secretary said the council's planning decision would have a knock-on effect on approximately 7,000 boys and girls who play in the league.
"In a time when we are trying to encourage children to move away from gaming devices, and become more active this is not the decision we, as a league, expected or wanted," Mr Collins added.
The secretary said the committee spends approximately €65,000 a year renting pitches for various clubs in the Midlands to host underage league fixtures and with "costs rising" this financial outlay would continue to eat into funds raised for the proposed development.
"If there was an issue with our original application, why didn't the local authority seek further information on the plans? We would love to meet with the planners, but they can only do so 21 days after the decision was made," Mr Collins stated.
The secretary acknowledged that, with a window of only four weeks to make an appeal to An Coimisiún Pleanála, "our timeline is tight".
"We would love common sense to prevail to allow this badly-needed centre of excellence for all our underage players to come to fruition. It's the next step of progression for our league," Mr Collins added.
Mr Collins and Midlands Schoolboy/League committee members met with Independent Offaly TD Carol Nolan and a number of local councillors this week in the hope of receiving support for the proposed development.
"This is not over yet. We will keep fighting to the end to have our dream realised," Mr Collins concluded.