A MEETING of prominent business people in the Enniskillen Hotel took place on Monday evening where they discussed last week’s decision by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council’s Planning Committee to approve planning for the Lakelands Retail and Leisure Park at the old Unipork site on the Cornagrade Road.

Retailers, solicitors, restaurateurs, hoteliers, estate agents and property developers were present for the discussion, with all sharing a common belief: that the decision was wrong and will have a huge effect on the Enniskillen town centre.

Two SDLP councillors, Paul Blake and Adam Gannon, were also in attendance.

Opinions and views about what the next step should be were aired, with the possibility of a judicial review being launched among them.

Speaking after the meeting, Enniskillen Hotel and Pat’s Bar owner, Michael Cadden, said his main issue now was with the way the application had been approved.

At the Planning Committee meeting last Wednesday, 10 out of the 13 councillors were present, with a split vote of five each for and against the application. However, as the Chair of the committee voted in favour of the application, it was the deciding vote, and the application was approved, against the advice of planning officers.

“From the very beginning, from the first conception of these plans I genuinely felt it was wrong for Enniskillen,” said Michael.

“I feel the shops that were coming into the new units as it has now been approved could be found homed elsewhere in existing sites. Therefore it didn’t make any sense to me to be building a new one [development] and moving it out of the town centre.

“You can walk through the centre of Enniskillen, and you can see empty units. There’s the Tech site [South West College], there’s the potential of the police site, there’s going to be the school site up on the hill [Devenish College].

“So there’s plenty of sites in Enniskillen within walking distance of the town which could be used for exactly what is being put out there; therefore it simply didn’t make sense to me.”

‘Frustrated’

“However, now that it has been passed in the way it has been passed, I’m now much more frustrated with the process.

“I don’t understand why we have created a situation here where planning and planning decisions are being made by untrained people directly in conflict with people who are trained to make the decision. It doesn’t make sense to me.”

And to try and scrutinise the decision even further and the process behind it, the group of business people are considering a judicial review.

A Council spokesperson confirmed that a judicial review is the only “means of challenge open to objectors in respect of planning decisions” and the Northern Ireland planning system does not provide for third-party planning appeal rights.

“A judicial review is clearly an option at this stage; however, we are not at that point yet. I personally feel that we need to get some advice on the best way forward and see where we stand and what our options are.”

Michael said this has never been about competition, and it would be great to see The Range and other prospective stores come into Enniskillen, but the issue rather is that this will have a hugely detrimental effect on the town centre.

“I have yet to hear from anybody an argument that isn’t going to be the case. Nobody has stood up and said, ‘No, what you are saying is wrong, what you are saying doesn’t make sense; no, it won’t have an impact on the town’.

“Nobody has come out and said that – they have just said it is going to improve this area, with an acknowledgement it is going to damage this area [the town centre].”

The businessman, who admitted that the development will not directly impact his businesses, believes that if something does not happen soon they will miss any chance they have of reversing the decision.

“I genuinely feel this is about the betterment of everybody and the greater good. But this is about understanding that if the town dies, tourism will suffer,” he added.

With only five councillors voting in favour of the proposed development, Michael feels this needs to be looked at.

“Only five people in the entire Council voted for this, and we are calling it democratic – it’s not democratic.”