Brown long-eared bats are stalling plans by son of Euromillions winner, Dolores McNamara, Gary to build a dream home near the shores of Lough Derg in east Clare.
This follows Clare County Council on Wednesday issuing applicants Gary and Michelle McNamara with a request that in order to advance their application that they hire a bat expert to carry out a bat survey concerning their plans for 'Stable Lodge’.
The McNamaras are planning to renovate an existing house along with converting stable buildings and adding an extension for a family home on Tinarana Estate.
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However, after a survey commissioned by the McNamaras detected the presence of brown long-eared bats at the site, the Council is requiring as part of a three page ‘further information’ request that the McNamaras carry out a new bat survey from May to September.
The Council move delays the McNamara planning application until the Autumn and the Council has requested the new bat survey after pointing out that the bat survey lodged with the application was carried out five years ago and during a sub-optimal time.
The Council states that given the length of time since the last survey work was undertaken, the findings are unlikely to be still valid.
The Council letter states that new roosts may be present and trees or buildings may have developed new features which were not previously present.
The Council has stalled the project after a report from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage stated that there is insufficient information in the application “to allay concerns regarding the impact of this development on local bat populations roosting in the application site”.
The Department asked the Council to request a Summer bat survey.
A bat report lodged with the application found evidence of roosting bats in the lofts of both Stables A and B.
The report recorded that two individual brown long-eared bats were observed roosting in Stable A, while one individual brown long-eared bat was observed roosting in the rafters of Stable B.
However, the bat report was completed in December 2017 in connection with a previous planning application and has been re-submitted as part of the new application.
No local objections have been lodged against the McNamara planning application.
The planning application comes 11 years after the McMcNamara family splurged a reported €3.46m for the 19th century 16-bedroom home, Tinarana House, and the adjoining 270 acres overlooking Lough Derg.
The McNamara family paid out €1.46m for Tinarana House and an additional €2m for the surrounding lands where Gary has since built up a beef herd of 100 animals.
The estate purchase took place seven years after Gary’s mother, Dolores won a then-record €115m EuroMillions jackpot in August 2005.
The planning documentation lodged with Clare County Council shows that the McNamara couple has ruled out using lakeside mansion, Tinarana House as a family home despite the 2012 outlay.
The McNamara couple have instead lodged plans for 'Stable Lodge’.
A five-page ‘Design Statement’ reveals that a pre-planning meeting for the new application, the Council’s Senior Executive Planner and Conservation Officer asked why the McNamaras did not propose to live in Tinarana House as a first option?
The statement records that this was initially considered by the McNamaras “but ultimately proved impractical as the building is just too big to operate as a normal family home”.
Instead, the McNamaras believe that a more appropriate use could be proposed for Tinarana House, such as a small boutique hotel “which could restore public access to what is a place of great natural beauty”.
It points out that “the initial priority for the Applicant is to move onto the Estate to assist with its overall restoration”.
The statement outlined the difficulties faced by the McNamaras since the Tinarana purchase from developers in 2012.
The statement says that prior to the purchase the estate “had fallen into considerable disrepair. Longstanding neglect had left both the land and the building fabric in a very dilapidated condition”.
It states that Gary McNamara took over the farm in 2013 and has gradually brought the farm back into use with a current beef herd of 100 animals.
It states that Mr McNamara “is now heavily involved in the running of the farm/estate and wishes to reside on site”.
The statement says that “this is both for practical purposes in terms of the number of hours spent working on the farm, particularly in terms of early morning and late evening, and for the added security that would result”.
The statement records that Tinarana House was burgled in 2013 “and significant damage was caused”.
It records that “the culprit, who was subsequently prosecuted, vandalised the property over a number of days between August 17 and September 14 and the applicant has had to undertake significant repairs to the building fabric to keep what is a protected structure watertight”.
Ennis Circuit Court heard in 2016 that Mr McNamara was left nursing a €128,778 bill after thieves ‘gutted’ his east Clare lakeside mansion of all its antique chandeliers, light fittings, brass items and copper piping.
The design statement submitted by Limerick architects, Arnold Leahy states that “the overriding aim of these proposals is to continue with the restoration and preservation of the stable buildings whilst creating a more functional use that will sustain them into the future”.
The statement contends: “There are significant overall planning gains both in the restoration of the built fabric and the proposed site works.”
The application will become ‘live’ once the McNamaras have lodged the requested further information.
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