Castlebar Town Council has taken legal action against a casino proprietor who flouted planning permission. A town councillor has claimed that the move has set a precedent.

“The Council have been criticised in the past for not enforcing planning legislation but they were quick to act in this circumstance and I hope this is an indication of swift action on non-compliant developers from now on,” said Cllr Michael Kilcoyne.

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The independent councillor said for years the Council had allowed developers to flout conditions on their planning permissions or allowed retention permission to developers who hadn’t even bothered to apply for planning permission in the first place.

“As far as I am concerned, every applicant should be treated the same. In the casino case, the Council felt the applicant had opened without permission and they have been supported in that view by the courts," concluded Cllr Kilcoyne.

The councillor now hopes "double standards" will no longer be applied and other developers not complying with planning permission will be challenged.

(GK)