An old school house, which some residents wanted declared a protected structure, will have to be demolished to in order to facilitate the scheme. And concerns have been expressed about the location of the development, adjacent to a ringfort which is afforded special protection under the National Monuments Act.

Fears were also raised by local people about the possible negative impact on tourism the development could cause.

Carney is the nearest village to Lissadel House, a huge tourist attraction in the area. The road from Glencar lake to Carney offers spectacular views of the lake and of Ben Bulben mountain and is identified in the Sligo County Development Plan as a scenic route.

Most objections centred on the density of the development with questions raised about the the adequacy of the local water supply and the sewage treatment facility. The residential aspect of the development comprises ten detached two-storey houses, thirty semidetached, sixty two-storey houses in seventeen short-terraced blocks and fifteen houses and twelve apartments in two and three-storey blocks.

"This scheme will double the village population overnight, " says local resident, Charlotte McManus. "We simply don't have the infrastructure to cope with something like this. There's already a development of around 40 new houses unoccupied for the past year because we don't have a sewage system or the water supply to service it. This new development will only be a stone's throw from the empty estate. We don't have footpaths in the village. So the extra traffic will be an issue. And to be honest, this isn't the kind of rural setting where you expect to come across apartments."

"I don't know how that development came to be built without the proper infrastructure in place, " says resident, Sean Farrell. "A friend of mine who had a deposit on one of the houses pulled out of the deal. I think a lot of young couples who had planned to move here did likewise. In fairness to the county council though, at a meeting with the residents last summer they promised us a new sewage treatment plant which I think will take about a year to complete."

Developer Shane Tully says the design of the development is based on village living and it complies with the Carney mini-plan. In a submission to the board he states that the design of the scheme "is based on village living, with terraces of houses creating streetscapes, sense of enclosure, on street car parking and open space set out in squares.

The development complies with Carney mini plan design policy."

In its ruling, An Bord Pleanala states "it is considered that the proposed development which includes streetscapes, home zones etc is appropriate to a rural village location, rather than typical suburban type housing estates predominantly found on the outskirts of larger towns." It further states that "the proposed development would not seriously injure the amenities of the area, would not be prejudicial to public health, would be acceptable in terms of traffic safety and convenience and would, therefore, be in accordance with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area."

The board instructed that two of the houses in the development should be omitted in order to safeguard the setting of the national monument to the north of the site.