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Dundalk ski-slope 'Altitude' application submitted
THE most significant step yet towards the ambitious Altitude project becoming a reality was taken on Friday morning when a comprehensive planning application and environmental impact statement was lodged with Louth County Council.
Consisting of a whopping 18,816 pages, the planning application for the n430 million leisure development at Dowdallshill cost e855,000 alone.
It was submitted on Friday morning by Sam Curran and Pearse O'Hanrahan of Innovative Leisure Systems – the Dundalk company behind the project - Charlie Beattie of CBA Consulting Engineers, quantity surveyor Eddie Gallagher and Robert Keran of John Spain and Associates
Speaking after submitting the 12 boxes of documents at the County Hall Millennium Centre, Innovative Leisure Systems director Pearse O'Hanrahan said that he was relieved to have finally reached this point.
"It's a massive landmark, not just for us but for the town as a whole," said O'Hanrahan.
"We've left no stone unturned in our application. We've carried out all the studies required and we're hopeful that the application will go through as it will be a major benefit not just for Dundalk but for the region.
"This has the potential to evolve into the future of Dundalk and we'll be starting straight away now on the application for phase two and we hope to be back here in a few months time to submit that," he said.
The former Dundalk Town Council chairman said he was hopeful the application for the development – which will create 1,200 full-time and more than 380 part-time jobs – would be successful.
"It's dependent on people really and people are unpredictable.
"There's no real residents affected by it but we wrote to 62 different agencies to get their views on the project and I don't think there's ever been an application made to Louth County Council that has been this thorough.
"You can never be sure that something will go through but went through a long process to get to this point and looked at every possible area that could be objectionable to ensure it would be passed. John Spain and Associates have been handling a lot of it and they've really been a revelation," he said.
Mr O'Hanrahan said he had received a lot of positive feedback on the plans for Altitude and said it continued to frighten him how big an impact the project could have on Dundalk.
"It's unbelievable .It frightens me to think of its potential. If everything goes according to plan it will be the biggest employer in the region and very few in the country would exceed it.
"It's become a labour of love for us now but it has been a great team effort."
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Weather for Dundalk
Thursday 17 May 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 7 C to 11 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 7 C to 12 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
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