Planning to be submitted for new service station adjacent to site of Creeslough tragedy

Stephen Maguire

A planning application for a new service station adjacent to the site of the Creeslough tragedy is to be lodged by the owners of the original site on which ten people died in October, 2022.

The new application will be lodged by the Lafferty family with Donegal County Council in the coming days.

The proposed site is adjacent to the original site on which the October 7th explosion occurred.

A planning application will be made in the names of Annette and Danny Martin Lafferty to Donegal County Council.

The intended planning notice was lodged in a local newspaper on Thursday.

The application will include permission to demolish an existing house on the site of the planned new development.

It will also seek permission to build an extensive new service station on the new site.

The proposal includes a new building which will incorporate a shop, post office, off-licence, deli, toilets, staff facilities and a forecourt.

The application also refers to underground storage tanks and pumps, a car wash facility, an outdoor launderette kiosk, an ATM machine and various signage.

The new application comes five months after An Bord Pleanála overturned planning permission for a new filling station on the same site as the original explosion.

Donegal County Council granted permission to Vivo Shell Limited to redevelop a service station and shop at the site in February.

That decision was appealed by a number of family members of those killed in the October 2022 blast.

On turning down the application for a new building, An Bord Pleanála said the proposed plan was "out of character" with its surroundings in the village.

The planning body said: "Having regard to the existing character and the prevailing pattern of development in Creeslough, it is considered that the proposed development (as amended), by reason of its overall architectural treatment, scale and design, would be out of character with its surroundings, would seriously detract from the architectural character and setting of Creeslough and the streetscape and approach from Letterkenny generally.

"It is considered therefore, that the proposed development would be contrary to Policy ED-P-9, of the County Development Plan, 2024 2023 being of inappropriate layout and building design in the context of the existing landscape.

"To permit the proposed scheme (as amended) at this prominent location could have such a negative effect on the visual amenity and local character of Creeslough as to negatively impact on the wider, long-term regeneration and renewal of the village.

"The proposed development would, therefore, seriously injure the visual amenities of the area and the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.”

The proposed rebuild had allowed for the demolition of the existing building where the explosion occurred and the construction of a new structure that includes a shop, post office, deli, off-licence and fuel forecourt.

A memorial garden and light-based sculpture with 10 metal poles commemorating those who perished in the tragedy was also planned for the site.

However, many of the families who lost loved ones in the tragedy said this was an insult to the memory of their relatives, considering they died in the metal and rubble of the blast.

The land on which the original service station was built is still owned by the Lafferty family.

Last month, a motion was passed by Donegal County Councillors seeking a compulsory purchase order on the site of the tragedy.

Cllr Tomas Sean Devine brought the motion forward ahead of the third anniversary of the tragedy.

He called on the council to start proceedings to take ownership of the land where the explosion occurred, by way of negotiation with the owner or a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) and sit down with the families and design a memorial garden in memory of all those affected.

Four men, three women and three children, ranging in age from five to 59, died in the blast that ripped through the service station in the village and a nearby apartment block on October 7th, 2022.

Those who died were Robert Garwe and his five-year-old daughter Shauna Flanagan-Garwe; Catherine O’Donnell and her 13-year-old son James Monaghan; fashion student Jessica Gallagher; Celtic fan Martin McGill; James O’Flaherty from Sydney; shop worker Martina Martin; carpenter Hugh “Hughie” Kelly; and 14-year-old Leona Harper.

The new planning application for the new site will be lodged with Donegal County Council in the coming days and can be viewed or purchased by the public.

A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made in writing to the Planning Authority on payment of a €20 fee within five weeks from the date of receipt of the application by Donegal County Council.