THE HEALTH Service Executive has been forced to revisit a decision to
remove a religious statue from the facade of a Kerry hospital last
year, following a ruling this week by An Bord Pleanála.
The board ruled that the removal of the statue was not an “exempted development”, and would require planning permission.
A
war of words erupted in March 2010 when the statue, which had been in
situ at the landmark Killarney Community Hospital for more than 70
years, was taken down.
It was later relocated to the grounds of
the hospital by the HSE but a vociferous campaign, led by mayor of
Killarney Cllr Donal Grady, to have the statue returned to its original
resting place has this week seen the planning appeals board step into
the row.
Killarney Town Council decided in January that the
removal of the statue was an “exempted development” that would not
require planning permission. This decision was referred to An Bord
Pleanála by Mr Grady and the board overturned it.
The HSE had
argued that the statue was removed for health and safety reasons, and
told the board that, as it was mounted on the flat-roof structure, it
did not alter the character of the building structure.
In its
ruling, however, the board said the statue constituted a prominent
element in the external appearance of Killarney Community Hospital and
contributed significantly to the character of the structure.
It
also ruled that the removal of the statue materially affects the
structure so as “to render the appearance inconsistent with the
character of the structure”.
The decision has been welcomed by the
mayor: “I always felt it was taken down wrongfully, and that it would
have needed planning.
“I always felt they were taking away a part
of the history of the town. The ball is in their court now. If I were
them, I would put back the statue.”