An Bord Pleanála has overturned planning permission for a new filling station at the site of the Creeslough explosion in County Donegal, where 10 people lost their lives in October 2022.
The national planning appeals board reversed Donegal County Council’s February decision to grant permission to Vivo Shell Limited for redeveloping the service station and shop. The original approval was appealed by several family members of those killed in the blast.
In its ruling announced Friday, An Bord Pleanála stated the proposed development was “out of character” with the village surroundings. The planning authority cited concerns about the architectural treatment, scale and design, saying it would “seriously detract from the architectural character and setting of Creeslough and the streetscape.”
The board determined the development would be contrary to local planning policy and could negatively impact the village’s long-term regeneration. “To permit the proposed scheme at this prominent location could have such a negative effect on the visual amenity and local character of Creeslough as to negatively impact on the wider, long-term regeneration and renewal of the village,” the decision stated.
The rejected proposal included demolishing the existing damaged building and constructing a new structure housing a shop, post office, deli, off-licence and fuel forecourt. Plans also featured a memorial garden with a light-based sculpture containing 10 metal poles to commemorate the victims.
However, many bereaved families viewed the memorial as inappropriate, considering their loved ones died in the metal and rubble of the explosion. The tragedy claimed the lives of four men, three women and three children aged between five and 59 when the blast tore through the service station and nearby apartment block on October 7, 2022.
Those who perished were Robert Garwe and his five-year-old daughter Shauna Flanagan-Garwe, Catherine O’Donnell and her 13-year-old son James Monaghan, fashion student Jessica Gallagher, Celtic supporter Martin McGill, James O’Flaherty from Sydney, shop worker Martina Martin, carpenter Hugh “Hughie” Kelly, and Leona Harper.
One family member expressed relief at the decision, saying: “This is terrific news. We simply do not want a new service station on the site in which our loved ones died.”
A statement from the families welcomed the planning refusal, describing the original development proposal as “deeply inappropriate” while a criminal investigation remains ongoing. “The families believe the ground should be treated with dignity and respect, given the scale of loss and trauma suffered,” the statement read.
Darragh Mackin, the families’ legal representative, said the decision “has restored faith in the rule of law, where victims are treated with dignity and respect.” He added that families continue to call for a full public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the tragedy while seeking “truth, accountability and justice.”