The consultant engineers working on behalf of Rathcormac Community Council in their planning application for an amenity site in the village, have returned the ball to Cork County Council, once again reiterating their belief that a Habitats Directive Screening Report is not required before a decision on the application can be made.

Should Cork County Council accept the latest response for further information, a decision is expected to be made at the end of April.

“Having regard to the nature of the proposed development on land that forms part of the floodplain of the River Bride upstream of the Blackwater River Special Area of Conservation, coupled with the requirement of the specific zoning objective C-04, a Habitats Directive Screening Report is required,” Cork County Council said in early March.

Full story in this week’s Print & Digital Edition