STRONG GLASLOUGH OPPOSITION TO TELECOMMUNICATIONS MAST PROPOSAL

A well-attended emergency meeting which took place in Glaslough Community Centre on Wednesday March 30 last galvanised local opposition to the decision by An Bord Pleanála to grant planning permission for the erection of a Vodaphone telecommunications mast in the area. Local residents have responded angrily to the decision to grant the planning application, which would see a 19.5m structure erected on a plot of land in the centre of the village, which was the winner of the SuperValu Tidy Towns national title in 2019 and was awarded a gold medal in the 2017 European Entente Florale competition, and is a nationally and internationally recognised beauty spot.

The village is also due to represent Ireland in the World Communities in Bloom competition later this year. “As such the erection of a mast of this scale in such a prominent position right in the heart of the village would have an unacceptable impact on the area,” a spokesperson for the opposition group told the Northern Standard this week. “Locals were delighted in 2021 when Monaghan Co Council supported their appeals and turned down the planning application but Vodafone subsequently appealed the decision to An…