Rezoning proposal for strip of Roscommon land for EV chargers defeated

A proposal to provide a 15 metre strip of land in Roscommon Town for electric vehicle chargers was defeated at a recent special meeting of Roscommon County Council on zoning.

A submission by William Walsh, the owner and operator of a filling station and shop at the junction of Castle Street and the N60/N61 in the town, asked that the piece of land adjacent to the existing filling station be zoned from ‘greenbelt’ to ‘outer core’.

The council declined to recommend this change, saying that the land was “identified as being within land liable to flood”.

Speaking on the issue, Cllr Nigel Dineen said it was something that was required and he proposed that the land be rezoned. This was supported by Cllr Tony Ward.

Chief executive Shane Tiernan said that the opportunity to vary designations would be in the next review of the county development plan, which would be in three and a half years' time.

“There is a reason for it being greenbelt because it is on flood plain plans. I would ask you to carefully consider this because it is not something we’re recommending.” He warned that the council could be challenged by the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR).

Director of services Mark Keaveney added that should lands, identified as at risk of flooding, be zoned, “that is likely to trigger a full strategic environmental assessment (SEA) which would delay the process substantially”. He added that the flood risk areas were determined by the OPW.

Cllr Marty McDermott said that it was a small portion of land for EV chargers.

“As a public representative you always want to help a business anyway you can. I think this is a very small parcel of land. I don’t think that will set a precedent. I think it is a small request,” he said.

He added that the business was very well established and regarded in the town. The executive did not disagree with Cllr McDermott’s comments but cautioned that the risks of zoning on areas subject to flood risk were high.

Senior planner Mary Grier said that any zoning other than greenbelt in a flood risk zone would raise concerns.

Cllr John Keogh said “we might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb if we are going to be inviting the OPR in”. He asked what the timeframe of the assessment would be “for what is a 15 metre strip at the end of the day”.

Mr Keaveney said the assessment was likely to take four weeks or a month, “that’s assuming that the answer is there isn’t an issue from an environmental perspective”.

“We are going against ministerial guidelines by zoning other than greenbelt on a flood risk zone,” he said.

The meeting heard that if a full assessment was triggered, the timeline was determined by the availability of the environmental consultants.

“A full SEA is a big body of work. The consultants that we are using are used by other local authorities, and there will be cost and time for this 15 metre strip,” Mr Tiernan said.

Council Cathaoirleach Domnick Connolly warned that “if we keep zoning land willy nilly, we are going to end up with egg on our face because the whole thing is going to be thrown out”.

After a short adjournment, a vote was taken and the proposal was defeated, 11 to three with two abstentions and two absences.

*Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.