TO: All Trim MD Cllrs.
FROM: Meath CoCo Planning, Enterprise & Environment

Dear Councillor,

I wish to update you in relation to the position with the Old National School at Ballivor, the existing planning permission and the ongoing local concerns about the future use of the site.

We had previously confirmed that there had been no recent requests for pre-planning meetings and no recent contacts relating to the development and that remains the position.

We have now carried further searches to establish if there had been any applications or contacts in previous years by The Church of Scientology or Narconon.

The Council can now confirm that in August 2016 we were requested by the Narconon Trust c/o McGill Planning, 7 Fitzwilliam Street Upper, Dublin 2, to make a declaration in accordance with Part V of the Planning & Development Acts as to whether or not a change of use from a nursing home to a residential drug rehabilitation facility was an exempted development.

The Council issued a declaration on 2nd October 2016 that the change of use as outlined in their submission was exempted development (and therefore would not require planning permission).

There is no record of any contacts by The Church of Scientology and there is no record of any further contact since then by the Narconon Trust.

As previously outlined I would emphasise that the final arbiters of whether or not planning permission is required are An Bord Planeala and it is open to any person to submit a further Part V application for determination at any time.

I will update you with any further information that comes to hand.