Irishplanningnews.ie

Bord Na Mona has received a 10 year planning permission from An Bord Pleanála under the Strategic Infrastructure Planning Act to construct a mechanical biological treatment facility on the site of the Drehid Waste Management Facility in Carbury, Co. Kildare.

The facility will have the capacity of 250,000 tonnes per annum of waste on a 29 hectare site.  The waste will principally be municipal solid waste and forms an alternative to landfill.  At present the landfill at the existing Drehid Waste Management Facility is permitted to dispose of a total of 360,000 tonnes per annum, reverting to 120,000 tonnes per annum in December 2013.

The conditions of the permission included the applicant providing “a sum of money” towards the cost of the provision of environmental improvement and recreational or community amenities in the locality. The identification of such projects shall be decided by the planning authority in consultation with the local community.  The “sum of money” is left to be decided between the Council and the applicant.

An Bord Pleanala recently granted permission for a biomass combined heat and power plant and associated ash landfill in Co. Meath under the supposedly fast-track planning procedure for strategic infrastructure.  The application was lodged in May 2009 yet was only decided at the end of February 2013 – 3 years and 9 months later.  Whilst the nature of the application was quite complex from a planning perspective the question has to be asked if the strategic infrastructure procedure is doing its job given the lengthy timeline involved.  A nearly 4 year wait for a planning decision appears to completely undermine the very reason for introducing the procedure. There would also have been considerable time spent in the pre-planning phase before the application was even lodged, with the intention of trying to minimise the issues that will arise when the application is finally lodged for assessment.  Given the prevailing economic situation a system that delays any large-scale infrastructure developments by such a period must be examined in terms of its usefulness going forward.

Source:  http://pleanala.ie/casenum/PA0013.htm

A decision by Kildare County Council to grant planning permission for a dry-waste recovery/recycling management facility in Kilcullen Business Campus, Kilcullen, County Kildare has been overturned by An Bord Pleanala who refused permission.

The applicant has sought permission for a dry-waste recovery/recycling management facility for inorganic waste material, including an End of Life Vehicle recovery facility, vehicle compactor, non ferrous metals store and associated works.  There was significant local opposition from residents in Kilcullen and they appealed Kildare County Council’s decision to An Bord Pleanala. 

The Board’s inspector recommended that permission be refused and the Board agreed with this recommendation.  They refused permission for a total of 4 reasons.  The first reason related to the fact that the proposed development was not considered to be a light industrial use and would conflict with the planning authority’s objective for land use zoning (‘light industry and warehousing’). The second reason related to the impact of the proposed development on the amenities of residential property in the vicinity by reason of noise and general disturbance.  The third and fourth reasons related to insufficient information being provided in relation to traffic and groundwater pollution.