An alleged bogus objector succeeded in delaying improvements at a telecoms tower in Ballsbridge in Dublin for almost six months.
Last year, Cignal Infrastructure Ltd lodged plans for a base station to boost the coverage for Vodafone, Three, and Eir in the D4 area.
The base station is located on the rooftop of an office and apartment block, called Number One Ballsbridge.
In August, Dublin City Council gave the plan the go-ahead in spite of opposition to the proposal by an objector, Andy Reid, with an address at Upper Rathmines Road.
Mr Reid claimed the installation would be “an eyesore”.
The plan was then stalled after he lodged an appeal to An Bord Pleanála.
Mr Reid paid the €220 fee and told the appeals board the development “will make the building too high, it is high enough as it is”.
However, the appeals board has thrown out the appeal after using rarely used powers under the Planning and Development Act 2000 when it was unable to establish the bona fides of Andy Reid.
Cignal raised concerns over the objection after calling to the Rathmines address and finding that the objector hadn’t lived there.
“Our concerns were really raised when we established that there was no record of the individual named in the appeal letter living at the address given,” a Cignal spokesman said.
“We are relieved that An Bord Pleanála investigated our concerns and have dismissed the appeal. Nevertheless, it has still delayed commencing the project by almost six months,” he said.
