*Cathal Crowe TD (FF). Photograph: John O’Neill
A CLARE TD has failed in his bid to secure planning permission for a family home after he disclosed to An Bord Pleanála that he owns another house in the area.
This follows An Bord Pleanála refusing planning permission to Cathal Crowe TD (FF) after finding that Deputy Crowe’s need to live in the local area “can be met by property and land in his ownership”.
The board concluded that Deputy Crowe has not demonstrated that he meets the necessary ‘economic need or social need’ criteria in the Clare County Development Plan and nor has he demonstrated that no alternative sites are available.
Deputy Crowe lodged the planning application in his Irish name, C. MacConcradha for the development at Cnoc na Fhraoigh, An Chreatalach in July 2022 after previously withdrawing house plans for the area after encountering opposition.
The application discloses that the site was given to Deputy Crowe by his late uncle, Tom Crowe who died last September.
Deputy Crowe had obtained planning permission from Clare County Council in September 2022 without disclosing his ownership of the other home in the area.
In the Crowe planning application form, a planning agent for Mr Crowe declared that the TD’s only other property was at Clonard, Westbury, Co Clare.
The appeals board planning file shows that the inspector in the case had initially recommended planning permission to Deputy Crowe.
However, with the adoption of the new Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029 which included new rules on the control of one-off houses in the countryside, the appeals board directed the inspector to seek new submissions on Deputy’s Crowe meeting the criteria to build a one-off home.
A 32 page addendum to the board inspector’s report reveals that in January of this year, Deputy Crowe disclosed the ownership of a second home at Woodcock Hill, Meelick.
The Crowe submission stated that his personal circumstances have changed since the planning application was lodged initially.
The submission states that in July 2022 when the application was lodged with the Council, Deputy Crowe did have a home in the local rural area.
However, it states he did not have use of this house at the time of lodging the application nor did he have use at the time the Council granted permission on the 5th of September 2022 or at the time he responded to the third party appeal lodged in October 2022.
The submission states that there are personal reasons for this circumstance.
A letter from Deputy Crowe’s solicitor, Michael O’Connor details how Deputy Crowe’s uncle, Tom Crowe transferred ownership of his dwelling house to Deputy Crowe together with his farmland in 2018.
The Deed of Transfer dated 14/11/18 reserved the right to exclusive residence of the dwelling house to Tom Crowe for the duration of his natural life.
The submission states that Deputy Crowe, while the registered owner was not entitled to possession of the property nor was he entitled to rent, renovate or extend it.
The submission states that Tom Crowe passed away on the 25th of September 2023 and upon his passing Deputy Crowe obtained formal possession of the property.
The submission states that Deputy Crowe did not have recourse to inform the Board of these changed circumstances under the Planning Acts.
Based on the new information and new development plan rules, the appeals board inspector, Adrian Ormsby recommended a refusal on May 31st.
The matter only came before the appeals board following a third party appeal by Matthew Broggy as part of a more than a four decade long inter-generational land dispute with the Crowes and the Broggys.
Matthew Broggy’s intervention in Deputy Crowe’s planning bid comes 43 years after Mr Broggy’s father, Noel objected to plans by Deputy Crowe’s parents, Michael and Irene Crowe to build their own dwelling home.
Noel Broggy opposed the Crowes’ 1979 planning application over a disputed right of way concerning a strip of land adjacent to the Crowe home at Meelick in south east Clare.
Asked to comment on the decision, Deputy Crowe said, “Disappointed but assessing the situation. There is a lot of paperwork to read”.
Asked if he regretted not declaring the ownership of the second property in the application, Deputy Crowe said that he was reviewing the file.
