Donegal County Council has granted planning permission to Vivo Shell Limited to redevelop a service station at the site where ten people tragically lost their lives in an explosion in Creeslough, Co Donegal, more than two years ago.
The explosion at the service station and apartment complex on 7 October 2022 claimed the lives of four men, three women and three children, aged between five and 59.
Those who died were Robert Garwe and his five-year-old daughter Shauna Flanagan-Garwe; Catherine O'Donnell and her 13-year-old son James Monaghan; Jessica Gallagher; Martin McGill; James O'Flaherty; Martina Martin; Hugh 'Hughie' Kelly; and 14-year-old Leona Harper.
The planning application contains plans to demolish the existing building and erect a new building which would include a shop, a post office, a beauty salon, fuel pumps and memorial features including space for a memorial garden.
Applegreen is not involved in the planning application, a spokesman confirmed.
In a decision published on their website, Donegal County Council said it decided to grant permission for the development subject to ten conditions.
The conditions concern measures related to orderly development, traffic safety, prevention of flooding, sustainable development, waste management, and protection of the environment.
In its application, Vivo Shell Limited expressed hope that "family members of persons who were injured or are deceased will see that much consideration and thought has gone into the application to be respectful towards all".
They said in the application proposal that "if granted [it] will result in a state-of-the-art development which will incorporate memorials and respect the victims [of the Creeslough explosion]".
More than 30 objections were lodged to the plans, including many from grieving family members. Families who lost their loved ones expressed hurt, anger and opposition over the proposal during the planning process.
Siblings who lost a sister said in their objection that the proposal "threatens to reopen wounds that have yet to heal and inflict further pain upon those who are already burdened with unimaginable grief".
"To see the place where our loved one perished transformed into a place of commerce is not only disrespectful but hurtful."
A former employee who worked in the service station said "rebuilding this garage on the same site will be re-traumatising".
Phoenix Law, which acts for many of the families said the application has "caused immeasurable hurt to our clients", adding that "this is a time for restoration and reassurance, not redevelopment".
Darragh Mackin of Phoenix Law said it was "difficult to comprehend a more insensitive and morally bankrupt decision in recent times" and they intend to challenge the decision.
A bereaved family requested in their planning submission that "all parties involved come together for a discussion to explore alternative solutions" in the hope that "through open dialogue, a mutual beneficial resolution can be achieved".
Several families expressed a wish that a memorial garden be built in the memory of their loved ones and to provide a place of solace and reflection for the community.
The planning application was lodged on 18 April 2024. A decision was due on the planning application last June but Donegal County Council sought further information, requested and received revised plans.
The decision was uploaded to the council's website this morning. Following notification of the decision, all parties have four weeks to decide whether they wish to appeal the decision via An Bord Pleanála.
While this process is ongoing, Donegal County Council said it will not be in a position to make further comment.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
What does the planning application contain?
The planning application submitted to Donegal County Council contained plans to demolish the existing building and erect a new building which would include a shop, a post office, a beauty salon, and fuel pumps, as well as space for a memorial garden and a memorial feature.
The site formerly had a shop, beauty salon, apartments, post office and fuel pump until the tragic explosion.
The floor area of the proposed building is 812 square metres on a 2.47 hectares (approximately six acres) site, located on the N56 in the village of Creeslough.
The planning statement submitted by Vivo Shell Ltd said that it "can be seen from the site layout drawing that the building in the application is in a different location to the previous building which was on the site."
The planning statement said the new building has been rotated on the site by 90 degrees and moved closer to the northern boundary of the site, meaning that approximately 10%-15% of the footprint of the proposed building would be located on the same footprint as the former shop "to minimise the cross over of the former and proposed buildings".
The design proposal contains two aspects to pay respect to those who lost their lives. It includes a green area which would allow for a future memorial, that would be built "in consultation with the families of the deceased and the community".
The second aspect would comprise an architectural installation consisting of ten lit poles near the shop entrance as a 'respectful ode' to the deceased.
They applicant said this installation would "be surrounded by a small wall which will allow for copy to be used as a seating or a contemplative area".
What did Vivo Shell Limited say in their planning application?
In their planning proposal, Vivo Shell Limited said: "it is important that it is acknowledged that this is a very sensitive application insofar as the site is where the awful event of 7 of October, 2022 took place, an event which had a massive impact on the local area and much wider afield and has left families to reconcile the tragic loss of loved ones".
They said they hope that family members of persons who were injured or deceased "will see that much consideration and thought has gone into the application so as to be respectful towards all".
The applicant said in their application that they "sought alternative sites within the settlement of Creeslough, however due to the topography of sites within the settlement and the non-availability of another site, they were simply unable to acquire an alternative site for this development".
They said: "the next of kin of all of the victims have been contacted by the applicants to advise [of the application] for the proposed development."
The proposal states the "village of Creeslough does not currently have fuel available within the village and the closest location for persons within the area to get fuel is either in Dunfanaghy or Termon which is 10km from the location of the subject site for this application".
The applicant said in their planning statement that while the shop is located at a temporary location at present, there is "no fuel available within the temporary store and space is extremely restricted".
"The social aspect which the previous shop offered to the community of Creeslough cannot be over emphasised.
"It is vitally important that the hub is re-established to allow for the social aspects associated with such an enterprise within a small rural village such as Creeslough is allowed to re-emerge, albeit in different circumstances whilst paying tribute to the victims of the event of 7 October, 2022.
"Whilst Creeslough and the wider Donegal community was shook by the event, the village should not be defined by it and therefore the rebuilding of this premises will be a step forward for the whole community and hopefully allow for some semblance of normality to resume within the village".
What was said in the objections to the proposal?
A father who lost his daughter in the explosion posed the question: "what normality will this [proposal] bring to the families of the 10 victims and the injured?"
In response to the comments that "Creeslough should not be defined by the events of 7 October 2022", he said this was "incorrect and insulting".
A mother who lost her daughter said there "should be nothing on that site only a memorial garden for us to be able to go, sit in peace to remember our loved ones".
A man who lost his wife suggested that those responsible for this planning submission withdraw their plans.
"How anyone considers that a memorial on an operating forecourt would be acceptable beggars' belief".
Phoenix Law, who represents many of the bereaved families, said the redeployment of such a facility absent of the facts of caused the explosion is not only insensitive, but negligent to the risk of life to which would potentially be posed.
They said central to this decision-making process is the underpinning fact that this is site of the greatest loss of life in this country in recent times and such a backdrop mandate that any action should be taken with caution.
They said the site of the Stardust Nightclub has never been rebuilt, nor would it have been contemplated that a nightclub would be erected on the very site of such a tragedy.
Phoenix Law added that Grenfell Tower is a place of reflection and memory. The law firm stated: "both locus's [Grenfell Tower and Stardust Nightclub] include memorials to which were erected upon consultation and lead by the families of those directly affected.
"If you were to allow such a proposal to be advanced, not only would it be deeply insensitive, but indeed it would be to flagrantly depart from public policy which has long since held against the redevelopment of buildings and structures at the centre of mass tragedy.
"There is currently a live criminal investigation, an ongoing review of health and safety and an extant decision on a request for a public inquiry.
"Until such times as those investigations conclude, it would be improper to interfere with or allow for the alteration of the scene in question. The instant scene is in essence the single most important exhibit in the instant investigations.
"To allow such redeployment at this stage would not only be insensitive but it would fundamentally undermine our client's confidence in the respective investigations".
A person who lost his niece in the explosion said in his objection that Creeslough needs suitable retail outlets, but he believes that there are "many more sites in the area that are much more in keeping with the true character of the area".
He added that "a more suitable [site] one should be used, allowing the site of the explosion, to be dedicated to remembrance and reflection".
What will happen after the Council’s decision?
As part of the statutory planning process, all parties have four weeks to consider the decision. An appeal may be made to An Bord Pleanála.
Meanwhile, gardaí said an investigation into the explosion is ongoing with the intention of submitting a file to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Gardaí said more than a year ago that more than 900 statements have been taken and more than 1,350 lines of inquiry actioned.
The investigation is supported by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI) and other agencies, including the Health and Safety Authority and the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU).
More than 20 bereaved family members and survivors met with three senior cabinet ministers for 90 minutes at government buildings last October to seek an independent inquiry that will run concurrently to the ongoing garda investigation.
A statement from the ministers after that meeting said it was important that "Government heard first-hand" from those impacted by the explosion.
They said: "while the Ministers did not rule out a public inquiry it is important that the garda investigation, the HSA investigation and the CRU investigation complete their work".
Last November, Donegal County Councillors unanimously backed a motion calling for the new Government to establish a public inquiry into the Creeslough tragedy within its first 100 days of office.
