FORGET garden fences, extensions or leylandii — helipads are the new battleground for rowing neighbours.

An Bord Pleanala, the planning appeals board, is investigating five cases of disputes between neighbours over helicopter landing facilities on private land.

Local authorities say that applications for permission to build helipads were unheard of 10 years ago, but they are now dealing regularly with such requests as a result of Ireland’s greater affluence.

One row involves Paul Walsh, a brother of Louis, the pop manager, in his Mayo hometown. Local residents and a school objected to a helicopter landing pad and hangar being constructed on lands owned by Walsh in Kiltimagh. They said a helicopter would pose serious health and safety problems as well as cause noise pollution. Mayo county council refused permission as a result earlier this month and Walsh has appealed the decision.

Niall MacCann, a businessman from Co Waterford, was granted permission by Cork county council last month for a private helicopter pad and access strip on lands in Kilcoran, South Conna, Co Cork. But that decision is now under review after an objector lodged an appeal to An Bord Pleanala.

John Condon, Mayo county council’s county secretary, said: “Ten years ago, a helipad application would have been unheard of, but in the past five years we have received a number of requests seeking permission for this kind of development.”

It is no longer only celebrities such as Jim Corr, Eddie Irvine, Michael Flatley and Shane Filan of Westlife who can afford to own helicopters. Builders, engineers and chiropractors are among the growing number of helicopter owners in Ireland in recent years.

Stephen Dowds, an independent planning consultant in Galway, said several of his clients own the aircraft. “One is a builder who will use it for nipping to and from jobs,” said Dowds.

“So if he has a job in Naas, he hops in the helicopter and flies there from Galway. You only have to look at the number of helicopters lined up at the Galway races to see that there has been an increase in the numbers using them.”

In 2004, 38 new helicopter owners registered their aircraft with the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), which has reported 16 new registrations so far this year. The IAA expects the current trend in registrations to surpass last year’s figure.

While all helicopters must be licensed and registered with the IAA, planning laws on developing helipads and landing strips remain unclear, making it difficult for authorities to determine the exact number of helipads in use around the country.

Dowds said: “There is no real policy in place as yet to deal with helicopters and landing pads as there are very few precedents, but a number of cases have emerged in recent years. There is a huge amount of flexibility in where a helicopter can land, and this makes it difficult to determine whether or not it is eligible for planning permission. The frequency and intensity of its usage is the determining factor.

In Britain, planning is usually granted where there are less than 50 landings a year. In Ireland, there are no such guidelines.”

John O’Hara, a planning expert in Dublin, said: “If you land a helicopter once on a piece of land, you don’t need planning permission. However, permission applies if you land a number of times on the same land or where there is a pattern in where a helicopter is landing.”

James Maloney, Walsh’s engineer and a part-time pilot, said operating and maintaining a helicopter costs thousands each year. Walsh’s helicopter, a Robinson 44 that was bought for €250,000, costs €16,000 to insure, and maintenance comes to €5,000 a year. He said residents and local authorities are having the final say on the helipads because not enough is known for the public to be reassured of their safety.

“To seek permission for a helipad is not something that is taken lightly,” said Maloney. “The costs alone are very high and we would have carried out our own reports to record sound levels and its impact on the environment. Any plane can fly over a populated area at 1,500ft.

“I think local authorities and the appeals board just don’t want anything to do with these kind of developments, which is why so many are being refused.”

Earlier this year, Bernard McNamara, a property developer, found himself at the centre of an ecological row when he landed his helicopter on land he owned beside a bird sanctuary in Booterstown, south Dublin. Local residents and conservation groups said the noise generated by the helicopter posed a threat to nearby birdlife in Booterstown Marsh, which adjoined the site.

McNamara has since removed the pad.

Ciaran Cuffe, of the Green party, said the recent increase in helicopter owners flying in urban spaces has angered residents across the country.

He said: “I see a lot more private helicopters flying about in urban areas, and there is a need to stop this from happening, especially if it is a growing trend. For locals, these cause worry over noise pollution and damage to the environment.”

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