planning permission required - groan

April 18th

Miles 170
Carbon Footprint 44kg
Expenses 10 euro on food

At 11am I finally got to meet Tom Barry, the director of Services to discuss the logistics of the Space Shuttle in Silvermines. In particular I wanted to discuss planning, insurance and power.

To my horror, it emerged that I would have to go through the planning process. From that moment I had six days to organise a planning application (and get a notice into the local paper) in order to give the public the requisite six weeks to make submissions and still be in time for the June 18th Council meeting.

The day got turned completely on it's head from that moment. I had to meet the Administrator of the planning dept. and find out what was needed for the application (Site Notice, Planning Notice, Map with boundaries of site marked, planning document describing project etc. locations of where planning documents could be viewed for the six week period etc.)

The first thing I had to do was find someone who could authorise use of the green space adjacent to the National School as a site for the Space Shuttle. I rang Billy Grace, the prinicipal of the National School, who was shortly leaving to take the children swimming. I jumped in the car and raced out to Silvermines; he turned out to be totally supportive and felt that the green space would be a good location for the structure. He reccomended some local people to approach about it as well, and agreed to attend a public meeting with me the following Wednesday evening.

I drove back to Nenagh and tried to get all of the documentation together; got the planning notice into the Nenagh Guardian and printed up some posters for the Public Meeting. Arranged the use of the local hall. Drove back out to Silvermines, put up some posters, met the Parish Priest and asked him to include a notice in the parish newsletter that Sunday; also rang Nora Ryan who does the Silvermines notes in the Guardian and asked her to include a piece.

Drove home and did an e-mail to all of the local press [three newspapers and two radio stations].

It's all part of the investigation of public space in the rural context of course!