'ENOUGH STRESS'
Woman ordered to tear down entire home by council because she’s ‘not local’…despite living there for 18 years
Sara has lived in Cork for 18 years - but has been told she's 'not local'
A WOMAN claims she is now facing homelessness after she was told to get rid of her mobile home because she's "not local".
Sara Williams, who lives in West , Ireland, is fighting to keep her home and beautiful landscaped gardens after she received an enforcement order from Cork County Council.
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She bought the three acres of land near in 2019 when the space was mostly empty.
Over the years, Sara designed her garden and even bought a mobile home to live in despite the councils refusing her application for planning permission.
I’m asking the council to use common sense and give this lady her planning, she’s going through enough stress already
Helen O'Sullivan
The council denied her application over the fact she's "not local" even though Sara has lived and worked in the area for more than 18 years.
Sara has planted more than 80 trees in the area over the last five years.
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She has also built a small pond and worked tirelessly to turn a barren site into a beautiful garden.
Yet, the council's enforcement order will see the space returned to an empty scrubland and make Sara homeless.
The news couldn't come at a worse time for Sara who recently had a cancer scare and had to undergo surgery to remove a lump in November with doctors specifically ordering her to avoid stress.
With the threat of homelessness for her and her three pets looming, she's understandably been unable to follow that advice.
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The West Cork women's predicament has been compared to that of Sean Meehan who built a log cabin on his land in .
Once Sean's story was picked up by the media hundreds of locals rallied behind him and told Tipperary County Council to leave him alone, according to .
Dad-of-5 made homeless after being forced to sell family house in dispute with neighbour… over garden fence
Now, locals in Ballydehob hope to do the same in supporting Sara against the council.
Helen O'Sullivan, running as an independent in the upcoming local elections in June, went on C103's Cork Today Show to raise awareness for Sara's case.
She said: "As you can imagine this has brought huge stress on her.
"She has three lovely pets and she has nowhere to go."
The aspiring councillor added that the council expect the land to be returned to how it originally looked which was just "empty scrub".
Sara's parents live near her mobile home and suffer from mobility issues which adds more stress to her current situation, said Helen.
She added: "I'm asking the council to use common sense to give this lady her planning, she's going through enough stress already.
"I don't mean to have her apply again, she's already applied two or three times, just approve the planning and reduce the backlog."
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Sara is due in court on May 22 and locals are ready to show their support for the West Cork woman.
The Sun has contacted Cork County Council for comment.
What are your retrospective planning permission rights?
A local planning authority can invite a retrospective application, according to .
You should submit your application without delay.
Although a local planning authority may invite an application, you must not assume permission will be granted.
A person who has undertaken unauthorised development has only one opportunity to obtain planning permission after the event. This can either be through a retrospective planning application or an appeal against an enforcement notice - on the grounds that planning permission should be granted or the conditions should be removed.
The local planning authority can decline a retrospective planning application if an enforcement notice has previously been issued.
No appeal may be made if an enforcement notice is issued within the time allowed for determination of a retrospective planning application
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