Developers of the proposed Creeslough Service Station rebuild have submitted revised plans to Donegal County Council this week, addressing issues raised by planners last month.
Vivo Shell Ltd continues to move forward with plans to rebuild the filling station and shop at the site of the tragic October 2022 explosion, where ten lives were lost.
The company directors are Danny Martin Lafferty and Annette Lafferty.
Their initial plans, lodged in April 2024, have been changed to adhere to planners’ requests for further information and road safety issues raised by the TII.
The developers now intend to place the proposed Post Office at a location fronting onto the main N56 road. The shop floor plan has been amended to account for the change, while the proposed store area has been moved to a yard behind the building.
They have also addressed disabled parking arrangements, moved a loading bay and altered the footpath along the front of the forecourt according to recommendations of Road Safety Engineers.
A new road safety audit has also been submitted addressing the N56 access and the circulation and parking area within the site. The planning authority previously said the scope of the road safety audit was too narrow.
The application to demolish the former service station building and rebuild a new store has come under controversy and opposition from some families affected by the tragedy. Some have campaigned for a memorial garden to be built on the site, rather than it being ‘business as usual’. Public submissions received by the council have said that seeing a shop on the site would add to the heartache of grieving families.
Vivo Shell Ltd, in its application, has expressed hope that their aim to respect the wishes of those affected by the tragedy is evident.
The revised plans, as seen by Donegal Daily, show that proposed commemorative steel polls remain part of the development. The placement of the ten lighted poles is intended to commemorate the lives lost in the explosion, those injured and the public affected by the tragedy.
