Donegal Donkey Sanctuary (DDS), a donkey rescue centre based in Co. Donegal, have reported on their FB page a planning matter involving an objection to a proposed development at their sanctuary.
The DDS FB post says:
For the last couple of years our team have been working very hard towards obtaining planning permission here at the sanctuary with a view to creating an even better environment for the beautiful donkeys in our care.
Last July an objection was raised by a third party towards said planning and this has caused a huge delay in moving forward. Three weeks ago, Donegal County Council passed our planning application with the stipulation that we move our entrance road a number of metres to the right in order to comply with new sight line guidelines.
We need to emphasise at this point that this entrance road was originally passed for planning almost twenty years ago as it is in fact the road to our house. It is not a new entrance.
Donegal Co. Council
Donegal County Council have been very efficient and meticulous in their handling of our application and we were overjoyed to finally receive the positive news that planning had been granted.
Unfortunately, the couple (Alastair and Amelia Rankin Glenn) who are objecting are not satisfied with this decision and have taken the devastating and unbelievable decision to appeal to An Coimisiún Pleanála (The Planning Commission) in Dublin in order to stop the development.
After much soul searching, we have made the decision to share this public document which is freely accessible to all on the Donegal County Council planning site.
The objectors own a piece of ground adjacent to the sanctuary. It is a field of approximately half an acre and planning permission was lost on it many years ago.
Himself and his wife are resident in Northern Ireland and are using the address of a Lifford [Co. Donegal] property on their objection which we believe to have been the gentleman’s childhood home.
Planning Objections
This is not the first objection to the sanctuary lodged by this couple and their extended family, some of whom live close to the sanctuary. Please check out planning reference number 1260142 dated as far back as 2012.
There are two significant documents in that planning document, submission by Alastair Glenn and also a letter from his extended family members under the heading ‘Supplement to MH Associates’.
We are absolutely gutted to have been put in this position by people who are not even resident in the locality, and who have a history of serial objection to our very existence.
We now face a lengthy delay of possibly six months plus for a decision. Just to clarify the argument being put forward is that we need to seek sight lines from the property to the north which is in fact the objectors own property! It would be funny if it were not so serious. At the end of the day it is very sad that serial objectors can use the Planning Commission to fight an animal welfare organisation over a non-existent grievance,
We have never publicly shared our difficulties in this regard before and indeed it goes against our core principles of maintaining a dignified silence in the face of any opposition to our valuable work but this latest setback is at the end of the day a strike against the donkeys and on that we will not stay silent.
Our Work for Donkeys
Finally, we would like to clarify a couple of possible questions which people may have:
Any substantial building work carried out at the sanctuary is always grant funded. Donations received from the public go directly towards donkey care.
Yes, we do in fact already have a visitor centre which is located in a barn originally intended to house donkeys. Creating a new visitor centre/classroom will free this barn and provide extra space and a better quality of life for our resident donkeys.
Our History-Donegal Donkey Sanctuary
Donegal Donkey Sanctuary was founded in 2010 by Sandra & Danny Curran. It is a family run sanctuary in the peaceful and tranquil countryside of Castledooey, Raphoe, Co. Donegal, Ireland (F93 R7P2).
The sanctuary began as a result of the Curran’s taking in a donkey who had been found tied to a scrapped car in an area of bog land and left to die. The family were so moved by this poor animal’s predicament that they brought him to their farm to live with the three donkeys that they already owned.
Over the course of the next year, they began to hear of more and more neglected and abandoned donkeys in their locality.
As numbers steadily grew, the Curran’s realised that there was a dire need for sanctuary for these gentle creatures and Donegal Donkey Sanctuary was born.
Visit/Support:
https://www.donegaldonkeysanctuary.ie/
https://www.facebook.com/DonegalDonkeySanctuary
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