11 people who had supported Supermac’s Ireland Ltd planned motorway services plaza on the outskirts of Ennis have now formally withdrawn their support.
It comes as a number of Clare FM listeners say their names appeared on letters which they themselves had not signed.
Clare FM’s James Mulhall reports:
By last Tuesday’s deadline, over 190 submissions had been made to Clare County Council’s planning office in respect of Supermac’s Ireland Ltd planned services station on the M18.
187 of those were from Clarecastle residents, whose names were on identical letters that said they wished to “offer full support” for the project.
Clare FM understands these submissions were all lodged by one individual person.
The standard fee of twenty euro was paid for each submission.
By Friday afternoon, however, Clare County Council had received inquiries from up to 40 individuals about their association with the planning application.
A number of those individuals separately told Clare FM that their names had appeared on letters they had not signed.
11 have now written to the Council to confirm that they wish for the submissions in their name to be withdrawn. No reason was sought and none was given for their decisions.
Clare County Council has advised concerned individuals to write to the local authority if they don’t want to be associated with the planning application.
It’s encouraging anyone else in the same position to email the planning office at [email protected] or to contact them by post.
In a statement, Supermac’s says it first became aware of the issue when contacted by Clare FM, that it is aware of considerable local support for the project and that the company believes the right to withdraw an observation… is properly exercisable by the individual.
Statement from Supermac’s
Statement from Clare County Council
Clare County Council has been contacted by up to 40 individuals during Thursday evening and Friday to enquire about their association with the planning application. The contact follows Clare County Council’s issuing of a receipt for individual submissions on the relevant planning application.
These persons have been advised by Clare County Council to write to the local authority if they do not wish to be associated with the planning application in order for the relevant submission to be withdrawn.
Clare County Council encourages any other individual who has received a submission receipt and who does not wish to be associated with the planning application to contact the local authority in writing confirming their position: by email ([email protected]), by post (Planning Office, Clare County Council, New Road, Ennis, Co. Clare) or by delivering a letter directly to the Planning Office frontdesk.
