AN BORD Pleanála, the planning appeals board, has been reduced to just four members, none of whom is an architect, and there is no indication when further appointments will be made by Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan. The Minister declined to reappoint two architects – former deputy chairman Karl Kent and ordinary board member Angela Tunney – and one former senior planner, Jane Coyle, when their terms of office came to an end late last year.
Read the article @ The Irish Times
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Showing posts with label an bord pleanála. Show all posts
Showing posts with label an bord pleanála. Show all posts
Monday, 9 January 2012
Thursday, 20 October 2011
Children's hospital hearing begins
A public hearing on plans for the proposed National Children’s Hospital on the grounds of the Mater Hospital Dublin began this morning.
An Bord Pleanála expects the hearing, which will hear evidence from more than 30 parties, will take three weeks to complete.
The hospital, which is expected to cost €650 million, would be able to accommodate clinical facilities for the provision of paediatric care, including 392 beds, 53 day care beds, 13 operating theatres, overnight beds for parents and a family resource centre.
The application also seeks to develop play areas, a school, external gardens and courtyards. The development, which is intended to be up to 16 storeys in height, is due for completion in late 2016.
Architects representing the National Children’s Hospital Development Board told the hearing that the site offered an opportunity to provide “world class” facilities in co-location with an adult hospital and eventually a maternity hospital.
Architect Clare White acknowledged that many submissions had raised concerns about the effect on the historic Georgian area, particularly protected structures.
“Almost every building on Eccles Street is a protected structure and we considered this context from the very outset,” she said.
Plans to locate a 16 storey “landmark” building on the site were consistent with Dublin City Council’s Local Area Plan, Ms White said.
The heights proposed for Eccles Street had been limited to four storeys rather than the six to 12 which would have been permitted by the council’s plan she said.
An eight storey block, set back from Eccles Street was planned but this would have “minimal impact on existing vistas or protected structures” and would be similar in height to the Mater Adult Hospital currently under construction.
The development would cause some overshadowing of Leo Street, off the North Circular Road, but this was “generally not considered to be significant”, she said.
The construction of the hospital at the Mater site is being opposed by a number of parties including local residents, An Taisce, the Irish Georgian Society, Tallaght Hospital Action Group, and the New Children’s Hospital Alliance.
The alliance, which involves health professionals and parents of sick children, in its submission to the hearing said it would not be possible to maintain proper standards of care at the chosen site, and that alternative sites were not adequately considered.
An Taisce, the Georgian Society and local residents have said the facility’s height and scale would have an unacceptable impact on the historic core of the city. In its submission An Taisce said the proposed development was in “fundamental conflict” with the Dublin City Plan because it was “seriously over-scaled” and “damaging to the setting and integrity of protected structures”.
The site was inherently unsuitable for a new National Children’s Hospital because of its constricted nature an Taisce said. The scale, bulk and height of the proposed development, which would dominate the northside Georgian city and “should be rejected out of hand,” it said.
Dublin City Council supports the development but said it must be compensated for the resulting loss of on-street parking revenues.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
An Bord Pleanála expects the hearing, which will hear evidence from more than 30 parties, will take three weeks to complete.
The hospital, which is expected to cost €650 million, would be able to accommodate clinical facilities for the provision of paediatric care, including 392 beds, 53 day care beds, 13 operating theatres, overnight beds for parents and a family resource centre.
The application also seeks to develop play areas, a school, external gardens and courtyards. The development, which is intended to be up to 16 storeys in height, is due for completion in late 2016.
Architects representing the National Children’s Hospital Development Board told the hearing that the site offered an opportunity to provide “world class” facilities in co-location with an adult hospital and eventually a maternity hospital.
Architect Clare White acknowledged that many submissions had raised concerns about the effect on the historic Georgian area, particularly protected structures.
“Almost every building on Eccles Street is a protected structure and we considered this context from the very outset,” she said.
Plans to locate a 16 storey “landmark” building on the site were consistent with Dublin City Council’s Local Area Plan, Ms White said.
The heights proposed for Eccles Street had been limited to four storeys rather than the six to 12 which would have been permitted by the council’s plan she said.
An eight storey block, set back from Eccles Street was planned but this would have “minimal impact on existing vistas or protected structures” and would be similar in height to the Mater Adult Hospital currently under construction.
The development would cause some overshadowing of Leo Street, off the North Circular Road, but this was “generally not considered to be significant”, she said.
The construction of the hospital at the Mater site is being opposed by a number of parties including local residents, An Taisce, the Irish Georgian Society, Tallaght Hospital Action Group, and the New Children’s Hospital Alliance.
The alliance, which involves health professionals and parents of sick children, in its submission to the hearing said it would not be possible to maintain proper standards of care at the chosen site, and that alternative sites were not adequately considered.
An Taisce, the Georgian Society and local residents have said the facility’s height and scale would have an unacceptable impact on the historic core of the city. In its submission An Taisce said the proposed development was in “fundamental conflict” with the Dublin City Plan because it was “seriously over-scaled” and “damaging to the setting and integrity of protected structures”.
The site was inherently unsuitable for a new National Children’s Hospital because of its constricted nature an Taisce said. The scale, bulk and height of the proposed development, which would dominate the northside Georgian city and “should be rejected out of hand,” it said.
Dublin City Council supports the development but said it must be compensated for the resulting loss of on-street parking revenues.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 16 October 2011
Gannon's car park at airport gets another seven years
Property developer Gerry Gannon has secured the approval of An Bord Pleanála to continue to operate a temporary car park next to Dublin Airport for at least another seven-year period.
The 41-acre park has 6,240 individual parking spaces and is leased to QuickPark, the Irish-based company run by businessman John O’Sullivan.
Gannon set a precedent when he originally got planning permission for the park despite strong opposition from Aer Rianta, which took the issue to the Supreme Court. Up to then the semi-State body had a virtual monopoly on parking adjacent to the airport. At the moment the Dublin Airport Authority rents 3,000 short-term spaces and 19,000 spaces for long-term parking. A number of hotels within the vicinity of the airport have also begun operating small-scale car parks in recent years to supplement their revenues.
The Gannon-owned car park has been trading exceptionally well since it opened because of its keen terms – it is currenly charging an on-line rate of €7 per day – and the fact that it is more convenient than most of the other car parks. QuickPark operates a 24-hour shuttle bus to the airport terminal every five minutes. The journey to the terminal can also be completed in five minutes. Gannon bought the 41.8 acres for the park in two lots at a figure reported to have been €400,000 per acre. The second parcel of land was acquired from the Royal College of Surgeons.
The proposed Metro North rail service has designated a site next to the car park as one of its principal stops to and from the airport. One of the conditions of the most recent planning approval by An Bord Pleanála is that Gannon’s company should provide facilities for the charging of electric cars in the car park.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The 41-acre park has 6,240 individual parking spaces and is leased to QuickPark, the Irish-based company run by businessman John O’Sullivan.
Gannon set a precedent when he originally got planning permission for the park despite strong opposition from Aer Rianta, which took the issue to the Supreme Court. Up to then the semi-State body had a virtual monopoly on parking adjacent to the airport. At the moment the Dublin Airport Authority rents 3,000 short-term spaces and 19,000 spaces for long-term parking. A number of hotels within the vicinity of the airport have also begun operating small-scale car parks in recent years to supplement their revenues.
The Gannon-owned car park has been trading exceptionally well since it opened because of its keen terms – it is currenly charging an on-line rate of €7 per day – and the fact that it is more convenient than most of the other car parks. QuickPark operates a 24-hour shuttle bus to the airport terminal every five minutes. The journey to the terminal can also be completed in five minutes. Gannon bought the 41.8 acres for the park in two lots at a figure reported to have been €400,000 per acre. The second parcel of land was acquired from the Royal College of Surgeons.
The proposed Metro North rail service has designated a site next to the car park as one of its principal stops to and from the airport. One of the conditions of the most recent planning approval by An Bord Pleanála is that Gannon’s company should provide facilities for the charging of electric cars in the car park.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 28 September 2011
GAA could add abseiling to thrills and spills of Croker
VISITORS to Croke Park may soon enjoy the thrill of jumping off the stadium’s roof onto Hill 16 under plans being proposed by the GAA.
A sitting of An Bord Pleanála in Dublin heard yesterday that the construction of a roof walkway on Croke Park would create a "unique" tourist attraction which would allow 360-degree views of the city and many of its famous landmarks.
Under plans developed by the GAA, visitors on the proposed Croke Park Rooftop Tour will also be able to abseil or zipline from the 35m roof.
Croke Park stadium manager, Peter McKenna said the project would offer visitors "a thrill in a safe environment" and an "OMG experience".
However, representatives of local residents walked out of yesterday’s hearing in protest at the board’s refusal to adjourn the hearing after they had requested that the planning authority investigate alleged irregularities.
A residents group, the Croke Park Streets Committee, said it was withdrawing "under protest". The group’s spokesman, Eamonn O’Brien, said the hearing was being boycotted by all residents in protest at their treatment under the planning system.
However, Mr O’Brien declined to details the group’s complaint.
In the past, residents have expressed concern at how all 55 applications for planning permission made by Croke Park in recent years have been approved.
They have also criticised An Bord Pleanála for approving a handball and sports centre, despite a recommendation by the board’s inspector to refuse it planning permission.
The GAA estimates that the rooftop facility will attract between 8,000 and 19,000 visitors a year, with about one quarter of these taking the opportunity to abseil or zipline from the roof.
Permission for the project was granted with 13 conditions by Dublin City Council last April but is under appeal by residents.
Planning consultant Brendan Buck said the GAA was concerned that a condition stipulating opening hours for the roof should be 9am to 6pm was "unduly restrictive".
Mr Buck said it was hoped the facility would attract some of the estimated 89,000 people who visit the GAA museum in Croke Park each year.
He claimed the rooftop walkway would need at least 8,000 visitors per annum to make it viable.
There will be five viewing platforms, including a pitch-viewing cabin with a glass floor.
Mr Buck said concerns about visitors being able to overlook local schools and houses had been addressed by telescopes being fixed at certain angles.
He told the hearing that the project was "a tourism legacy for current and future generations".
Mr McKenna said Croke Part was a "must-see" facility, and that the project would add to Dublin’s attractiveness as a tourist destination and would provide six new full-time jobs and 10 part-time jobs, as well as 50 jobs during the construction stage.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
A sitting of An Bord Pleanála in Dublin heard yesterday that the construction of a roof walkway on Croke Park would create a "unique" tourist attraction which would allow 360-degree views of the city and many of its famous landmarks.
Under plans developed by the GAA, visitors on the proposed Croke Park Rooftop Tour will also be able to abseil or zipline from the 35m roof.
Croke Park stadium manager, Peter McKenna said the project would offer visitors "a thrill in a safe environment" and an "OMG experience".
However, representatives of local residents walked out of yesterday’s hearing in protest at the board’s refusal to adjourn the hearing after they had requested that the planning authority investigate alleged irregularities.
A residents group, the Croke Park Streets Committee, said it was withdrawing "under protest". The group’s spokesman, Eamonn O’Brien, said the hearing was being boycotted by all residents in protest at their treatment under the planning system.
However, Mr O’Brien declined to details the group’s complaint.
In the past, residents have expressed concern at how all 55 applications for planning permission made by Croke Park in recent years have been approved.
They have also criticised An Bord Pleanála for approving a handball and sports centre, despite a recommendation by the board’s inspector to refuse it planning permission.
The GAA estimates that the rooftop facility will attract between 8,000 and 19,000 visitors a year, with about one quarter of these taking the opportunity to abseil or zipline from the roof.
Permission for the project was granted with 13 conditions by Dublin City Council last April but is under appeal by residents.
Planning consultant Brendan Buck said the GAA was concerned that a condition stipulating opening hours for the roof should be 9am to 6pm was "unduly restrictive".
Mr Buck said it was hoped the facility would attract some of the estimated 89,000 people who visit the GAA museum in Croke Park each year.
He claimed the rooftop walkway would need at least 8,000 visitors per annum to make it viable.
There will be five viewing platforms, including a pitch-viewing cabin with a glass floor.
Mr Buck said concerns about visitors being able to overlook local schools and houses had been addressed by telescopes being fixed at certain angles.
He told the hearing that the project was "a tourism legacy for current and future generations".
Mr McKenna said Croke Part was a "must-see" facility, and that the project would add to Dublin’s attractiveness as a tourist destination and would provide six new full-time jobs and 10 part-time jobs, as well as 50 jobs during the construction stage.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
GAA could add abseiling to thrills and spills of Croker
VISITORS to Croke Park may soon enjoy the thrill of jumping off the stadium’s roof onto Hill 16 under plans being proposed by the GAA.
A sitting of An Bord Pleanála in Dublin heard yesterday that the construction of a roof walkway on Croke Park would create a "unique" tourist attraction which would allow 360-degree views of the city and many of its famous landmarks.
Under plans developed by the GAA, visitors on the proposed Croke Park Rooftop Tour will also be able to abseil or zipline from the 35m roof.
Croke Park stadium manager, Peter McKenna said the project would offer visitors "a thrill in a safe environment" and an "OMG experience".
However, representatives of local residents walked out of yesterday’s hearing in protest at the board’s refusal to adjourn the hearing after they had requested that the planning authority investigate alleged irregularities.
A residents group, the Croke Park Streets Committee, said it was withdrawing "under protest". The group’s spokesman, Eamonn O’Brien, said the hearing was being boycotted by all residents in protest at their treatment under the planning system.
However, Mr O’Brien declined to details the group’s complaint.
In the past, residents have expressed concern at how all 55 applications for planning permission made by Croke Park in recent years have been approved.
They have also criticised An Bord Pleanála for approving a handball and sports centre, despite a recommendation by the board’s inspector to refuse it planning permission.
The GAA estimates that the rooftop facility will attract between 8,000 and 19,000 visitors a year, with about one quarter of these taking the opportunity to abseil or zipline from the roof.
Permission for the project was granted with 13 conditions by Dublin City Council last April but is under appeal by residents.
Planning consultant Brendan Buck said the GAA was concerned that a condition stipulating opening hours for the roof should be 9am to 6pm was "unduly restrictive".
Mr Buck said it was hoped the facility would attract some of the estimated 89,000 people who visit the GAA museum in Croke Park each year.
He claimed the rooftop walkway would need at least 8,000 visitors per annum to make it viable.
There will be five viewing platforms, including a pitch-viewing cabin with a glass floor.
Mr Buck said concerns about visitors being able to overlook local schools and houses had been addressed by telescopes being fixed at certain angles.
He told the hearing that the project was "a tourism legacy for current and future generations".
Mr McKenna said Croke Part was a "must-see" facility, and that the project would add to Dublin’s attractiveness as a tourist destination and would provide six new full-time jobs and 10 part-time jobs, as well as 50 jobs during the construction stage.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
A sitting of An Bord Pleanála in Dublin heard yesterday that the construction of a roof walkway on Croke Park would create a "unique" tourist attraction which would allow 360-degree views of the city and many of its famous landmarks.
Under plans developed by the GAA, visitors on the proposed Croke Park Rooftop Tour will also be able to abseil or zipline from the 35m roof.
Croke Park stadium manager, Peter McKenna said the project would offer visitors "a thrill in a safe environment" and an "OMG experience".
However, representatives of local residents walked out of yesterday’s hearing in protest at the board’s refusal to adjourn the hearing after they had requested that the planning authority investigate alleged irregularities.
A residents group, the Croke Park Streets Committee, said it was withdrawing "under protest". The group’s spokesman, Eamonn O’Brien, said the hearing was being boycotted by all residents in protest at their treatment under the planning system.
However, Mr O’Brien declined to details the group’s complaint.
In the past, residents have expressed concern at how all 55 applications for planning permission made by Croke Park in recent years have been approved.
They have also criticised An Bord Pleanála for approving a handball and sports centre, despite a recommendation by the board’s inspector to refuse it planning permission.
The GAA estimates that the rooftop facility will attract between 8,000 and 19,000 visitors a year, with about one quarter of these taking the opportunity to abseil or zipline from the roof.
Permission for the project was granted with 13 conditions by Dublin City Council last April but is under appeal by residents.
Planning consultant Brendan Buck said the GAA was concerned that a condition stipulating opening hours for the roof should be 9am to 6pm was "unduly restrictive".
Mr Buck said it was hoped the facility would attract some of the estimated 89,000 people who visit the GAA museum in Croke Park each year.
He claimed the rooftop walkway would need at least 8,000 visitors per annum to make it viable.
There will be five viewing platforms, including a pitch-viewing cabin with a glass floor.
Mr Buck said concerns about visitors being able to overlook local schools and houses had been addressed by telescopes being fixed at certain angles.
He told the hearing that the project was "a tourism legacy for current and future generations".
Mr McKenna said Croke Part was a "must-see" facility, and that the project would add to Dublin’s attractiveness as a tourist destination and would provide six new full-time jobs and 10 part-time jobs, as well as 50 jobs during the construction stage.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 25 September 2011
Surfers greet ruling on Doolin pier plan
SURFERS HAVE claimed a big victory in their opposition to plans for a €6 million pier at Doolin in north Clare.
This follows a Bord Pleanála ruling that Clare County Council must reapply for planning permission for the pier and prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the project.
Surfers with support from leading exponents internationally have expressed concern that the pier as proposed would destroy “world-class” waves in the area, some of which are said to match the giant surfing waves off Hawaii.
The ruling supersedes a unanimous decision at the council’s March meeting to give the plan the go-ahead and sets back the project at least a year.
The board ordered that the council prepare an EIS due to the potential impact of the proposed development on wave and tidal patterns in the area, the submissions made to the board and the nature of the proposal, which is likely to be characterised by significant blasting, dredging and construction works within the terrestrial/marine environment.
A spokesman for the West Coast Surf Club said that it and the Irish Surf Association were happy with the board’s ruling.
The spokesman said the surfing groups were open to a redesigned plan that would be agreeable to all. “It will be disappointing for all involved if this delays the development of the pier, including the people of Doolin and Inis Óirr.
“We confirm that it is still the desire of the surfing community – as it always has been – that this pier project should go ahead and confirm our immediate and continuing availability to meet with the council to progress a mutually agreeable design for the pier which will provide an effective new facility for all users while maintaining a world-famous surf environment which can continue to be used by local, national and international surfers.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
This follows a Bord Pleanála ruling that Clare County Council must reapply for planning permission for the pier and prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the project.
Surfers with support from leading exponents internationally have expressed concern that the pier as proposed would destroy “world-class” waves in the area, some of which are said to match the giant surfing waves off Hawaii.
The ruling supersedes a unanimous decision at the council’s March meeting to give the plan the go-ahead and sets back the project at least a year.
The board ordered that the council prepare an EIS due to the potential impact of the proposed development on wave and tidal patterns in the area, the submissions made to the board and the nature of the proposal, which is likely to be characterised by significant blasting, dredging and construction works within the terrestrial/marine environment.
A spokesman for the West Coast Surf Club said that it and the Irish Surf Association were happy with the board’s ruling.
The spokesman said the surfing groups were open to a redesigned plan that would be agreeable to all. “It will be disappointing for all involved if this delays the development of the pier, including the people of Doolin and Inis Óirr.
“We confirm that it is still the desire of the surfing community – as it always has been – that this pier project should go ahead and confirm our immediate and continuing availability to meet with the council to progress a mutually agreeable design for the pier which will provide an effective new facility for all users while maintaining a world-famous surf environment which can continue to be used by local, national and international surfers.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 12 September 2011
Greenstar seeks to defer recycling plan hearing
AN BORD Pleanála has been requested by waste management company Greenstar to defer an oral hearing on its plans for a recycling facility in Co Meath, due to a proposed change in the household waste collection regime.
Another waste management company, Panda, has reiterated its warning that it will take legal action against the Government if Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan proceeds with plans to introduce franchise bidding for waste collection.
The oral hearing on Greenstar’s plan to develop an anaerobic digestion plant for the treatment of organic waste at Knockharley, near Kentstown, Co Meath, was due to open next Monday, but the company has sought a deferral until next April.
“We have unfortunately had to take this decision due to the uncertain policy environment that now surrounds anaerobic digestion and other recycling technologies which may be made unviable through recent governmental moves”, according to Greenstar.
Chief executive Rosheen McGuckian said: “Given the fundamental nature of the policy changes under discussion at present it is just not possible for us to inform an oral hearing on key areas such as inputs to and outputs from the proposed plant.”
The policy changes were put forward last June by the Department of the Environment in a discussion document Altering the Structure of Household Waste Collection Markets , which would have the effect of giving back control of the market to local authorities.
As a result, Ms McGuckian said, “We don’t know whether waste we recycle at present would in the future be directed to our own recycling plants or to the Poolbeg incinerator” – a 600,000-tonne facility being planned by US waste management company Covanta.
The Minister has abolished a levy on incineration, and Greenstar sees proposals to review exemptions from the landfill levy as a “further threat to the viability of organic waste treatment”.
Under existing legislation, the inert soil output from anaerobic digestion plants may be landfilled at no cost. “To remove this exemption would expose any landfilled output from anaerobic digestion to the full cost of recently increased landfill levies”, Ms McGuckian said.
“The Government has already removed the possibility of environmental levies on incineration, a competitor technology to anaerobic digestion. To turn around and place levies on it would kill this renewable energy technology completely”, she warned.
In its 72-page submission on plans to introduce franchise tenders for waste contracts, Panda managing director Eamon Waters said it believed “the real intention behind this proposal is to take control of waste to ensure that it can be sent to the Poolbeg incinerator”.
He said this amounted to “special treatment for an individual private company” (Covanta) and was both “unfair and unjustified [as] no credible reliable expert evidence whatsoever has been produced to justify the dismantling of the current side-by-side competition”.
As a result, Panda’s financing for the next phase of its recycling facility in Rathdrinagh, near Slane, Co Meath, was “in jeopardy”, Mr Waters said.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Another waste management company, Panda, has reiterated its warning that it will take legal action against the Government if Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan proceeds with plans to introduce franchise bidding for waste collection.
The oral hearing on Greenstar’s plan to develop an anaerobic digestion plant for the treatment of organic waste at Knockharley, near Kentstown, Co Meath, was due to open next Monday, but the company has sought a deferral until next April.
“We have unfortunately had to take this decision due to the uncertain policy environment that now surrounds anaerobic digestion and other recycling technologies which may be made unviable through recent governmental moves”, according to Greenstar.
Chief executive Rosheen McGuckian said: “Given the fundamental nature of the policy changes under discussion at present it is just not possible for us to inform an oral hearing on key areas such as inputs to and outputs from the proposed plant.”
The policy changes were put forward last June by the Department of the Environment in a discussion document Altering the Structure of Household Waste Collection Markets , which would have the effect of giving back control of the market to local authorities.
As a result, Ms McGuckian said, “We don’t know whether waste we recycle at present would in the future be directed to our own recycling plants or to the Poolbeg incinerator” – a 600,000-tonne facility being planned by US waste management company Covanta.
The Minister has abolished a levy on incineration, and Greenstar sees proposals to review exemptions from the landfill levy as a “further threat to the viability of organic waste treatment”.
Under existing legislation, the inert soil output from anaerobic digestion plants may be landfilled at no cost. “To remove this exemption would expose any landfilled output from anaerobic digestion to the full cost of recently increased landfill levies”, Ms McGuckian said.
“The Government has already removed the possibility of environmental levies on incineration, a competitor technology to anaerobic digestion. To turn around and place levies on it would kill this renewable energy technology completely”, she warned.
In its 72-page submission on plans to introduce franchise tenders for waste contracts, Panda managing director Eamon Waters said it believed “the real intention behind this proposal is to take control of waste to ensure that it can be sent to the Poolbeg incinerator”.
He said this amounted to “special treatment for an individual private company” (Covanta) and was both “unfair and unjustified [as] no credible reliable expert evidence whatsoever has been produced to justify the dismantling of the current side-by-side competition”.
As a result, Panda’s financing for the next phase of its recycling facility in Rathdrinagh, near Slane, Co Meath, was “in jeopardy”, Mr Waters said.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 29 August 2011
No permission for Burren centre
An Bord Pleanála has refused plans for a “unique tourism product” on the Burren that, according to the applicants, had the potential to generate €3 million a year and create up to 18 jobs.
This follows the planning board upholding an appeal by An Taisce against a decision by Clare County Council to grant planning permission to Fintan O’Brien, Kieran Casey and Brian O’Shaughnessy to construct a wellness centre near Ruan.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
This follows the planning board upholding an appeal by An Taisce against a decision by Clare County Council to grant planning permission to Fintan O’Brien, Kieran Casey and Brian O’Shaughnessy to construct a wellness centre near Ruan.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 22 August 2011
Approval for Foyle waste-water plant
AN BORD Pleanála has approved planning permission for a waste-water treatment plant at Lough Foyle against its inspector’s recommendation.
The board has granted planning permission for the secondary and tertiary treatment plant with an outfall at Carnagarve, Moville, Co Donegal, in spite of local opposition and concerns expressed by former SDLP leader and MEP John Hume and writer Brian Friel.
The board cites EU directives and the “current unsatisfactory situation regarding waste-water discharges from the towns of Moville and Greencastle to Lough Foyle” as the main reasons for its approval.
It has advised that a proposed pumping station at Glenburnie should be dropped from the scheme in the interests of environmental protection of a high-amenity shoreline.
Brian Friel, John Hume, his wife Pat and Michelle Gildernew in her capacity as then minister for agriculture and rural development in the Northern Assembly had expressed concerns about Donegal County Council’s plans for the scheme.
The Moville-Greencastle Environmental Group, which was among appellants, had challenged the council’s determination to secure approval for one particular location for the pumping station and outflow pipe into the Foyle.
The controversy about the project dates back over a decade, and in 2005 the local authority received Department of the Environment approval to proceed with the planning stage. The council said the scheme was required to “remove the existing raw sewage discharges into the Bredagh river and Lough Foyle, to comply with EU directives and to provide infrastructure for the development of Moville and Greencastle”.
However, the local authority’s preferred location in Carnagarve was not among the seven recommended after a public consultation. It identified Carnagarve as being suitable in spite of proximity to a beach and a popular coastal walking route at Lafferty’s Lane.
An Bord Pleanála, which was handling the planning application by the local authority, held an oral hearing in Redcastle in July 2009.
The Loughs Agency, which is responsible for both Lough Foyle and Carlingford Lough, had also expressed concern about the methodology adopted for hydrodynamic modelling in Donegal County Council’s environmental impact assessment, and the “potential impact of the proposal on the shellfisheries of Lough Foyle”.
An Bord Pleanála says in its ruling it “considered that it would not be appropriate to refuse approval for the scheme on the basis that the applicant had, in the course of the application, made a commitment to further improve the effluent discharge standard over and above what had been initially proposed and modelled”.
It also said that omission of a pumping station and outfall at Glenburnie had met its inspector’s concerns about this aspect.
It added that discharges would be monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Dr Don McGinley of the Moville-Greencastle Environmental Group said the group would meet to consider the decision.
Commenting in a personal capacity yesterday, Dr McGinley said the decision was “wrong”.
He claimed that it “did not address the fundamental deficits of information in the environmental impact statement” submitted by the local authority or the problems with its hydrodynamic study.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The board has granted planning permission for the secondary and tertiary treatment plant with an outfall at Carnagarve, Moville, Co Donegal, in spite of local opposition and concerns expressed by former SDLP leader and MEP John Hume and writer Brian Friel.
The board cites EU directives and the “current unsatisfactory situation regarding waste-water discharges from the towns of Moville and Greencastle to Lough Foyle” as the main reasons for its approval.
It has advised that a proposed pumping station at Glenburnie should be dropped from the scheme in the interests of environmental protection of a high-amenity shoreline.
Brian Friel, John Hume, his wife Pat and Michelle Gildernew in her capacity as then minister for agriculture and rural development in the Northern Assembly had expressed concerns about Donegal County Council’s plans for the scheme.
The Moville-Greencastle Environmental Group, which was among appellants, had challenged the council’s determination to secure approval for one particular location for the pumping station and outflow pipe into the Foyle.
The controversy about the project dates back over a decade, and in 2005 the local authority received Department of the Environment approval to proceed with the planning stage. The council said the scheme was required to “remove the existing raw sewage discharges into the Bredagh river and Lough Foyle, to comply with EU directives and to provide infrastructure for the development of Moville and Greencastle”.
However, the local authority’s preferred location in Carnagarve was not among the seven recommended after a public consultation. It identified Carnagarve as being suitable in spite of proximity to a beach and a popular coastal walking route at Lafferty’s Lane.
An Bord Pleanála, which was handling the planning application by the local authority, held an oral hearing in Redcastle in July 2009.
The Loughs Agency, which is responsible for both Lough Foyle and Carlingford Lough, had also expressed concern about the methodology adopted for hydrodynamic modelling in Donegal County Council’s environmental impact assessment, and the “potential impact of the proposal on the shellfisheries of Lough Foyle”.
An Bord Pleanála says in its ruling it “considered that it would not be appropriate to refuse approval for the scheme on the basis that the applicant had, in the course of the application, made a commitment to further improve the effluent discharge standard over and above what had been initially proposed and modelled”.
It also said that omission of a pumping station and outfall at Glenburnie had met its inspector’s concerns about this aspect.
It added that discharges would be monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Dr Don McGinley of the Moville-Greencastle Environmental Group said the group would meet to consider the decision.
Commenting in a personal capacity yesterday, Dr McGinley said the decision was “wrong”.
He claimed that it “did not address the fundamental deficits of information in the environmental impact statement” submitted by the local authority or the problems with its hydrodynamic study.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Permission refused for Connemara wind farm
AN BORD Pleanála has refused planning permission for a major wind farm in Connemara, consisting of 27 turbines, on the basis that it would “erode the visual and environmental amenity of this area” of Co Galway.
Overturning Galway County Council’s decision to approve the scheme after it was appealed by An Taisce, Inland Fisheries Ireland and six individual objectors, the board said the Connemara landscape “is one of the principal assets of the tourism industry” in the county.
Gaoi an Iarthar Teo wanted to erect 27 turbines in a scenic area of bog and lakeland landscape, 4km north of Ros a’Mhil. Each turbine would have had a hub height of 98m – 1½ times taller than Dublin’s Liberty Hall – and 82m rotor blades.
Senior planning inspector Kevin Moore, who dealt with the appeal, recommended that permission should be granted.
While he accepted that the project would have a “significant landscape and visual impact”, he did not believe that this would be “wholly negative”.
An Bord Pleanála decided unanimously not to accept the inspector’s recommendation, saying that the proposed wind farm would be an “excessively dominant feature and visually obtrusive form of development” in south Connemara’s “highly scenic open landscape”.
It also noted that the area was part of the Connemara Bog Complex Special Area of Conservation (SAC), with a “high” landscape sensitivity designation in the current Galway County Development Plan – even though it was also identified as having wind farm potential.
“The development will also have ecological impacts, and while not affecting the integrity of the adjoining SAC, it will impact negatively on the ecological value of the site itself and on its value within the wider area . . . by reason of its nature and scale,” the planning board said.
“The proposed development would seriously injure the amenities of the area, would interfere with the character of the landscape which it is necessary to preserve and would, therefore, be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.”
Welcoming the decision, An Taisce noted that it follows a number of other significant refusals by An Bord Pleanála of wind farms on the basis of ecological impact, particularly in special protection areas for hen harriers and other species protected by the EU birds directive.
The latest decision “highlights the need for an effective national strategy for future wind energy development to reconcile the imperative of meeting renewable energy targets while at the same time protecting biodiversity and our most iconic landscapes”.
An Taisce said the Gaoi an Iarthar Teo application site “should now form part of an extended Connemara mountain and peatland national park area”, and it called on the county council to exclude the site and others like it from the draft wind energy strategy for Co Galway.
The Irish Wind Energy Association, while not wishing to comment on the board’s decision, said there was a need for a forum where industry experts, the Department of the Environment, local authorities and An Bord Pleanála could “engage on planning issues”.
Meanwhile, the wind energy association – with the support of Gaelectric – has launched a new training course for teachers to raise young people’s awareness of Ireland’s “massive reserves of renewable power”.
The “Kid Wind” course can be found at iwea.com
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Overturning Galway County Council’s decision to approve the scheme after it was appealed by An Taisce, Inland Fisheries Ireland and six individual objectors, the board said the Connemara landscape “is one of the principal assets of the tourism industry” in the county.
Gaoi an Iarthar Teo wanted to erect 27 turbines in a scenic area of bog and lakeland landscape, 4km north of Ros a’Mhil. Each turbine would have had a hub height of 98m – 1½ times taller than Dublin’s Liberty Hall – and 82m rotor blades.
Senior planning inspector Kevin Moore, who dealt with the appeal, recommended that permission should be granted.
While he accepted that the project would have a “significant landscape and visual impact”, he did not believe that this would be “wholly negative”.
An Bord Pleanála decided unanimously not to accept the inspector’s recommendation, saying that the proposed wind farm would be an “excessively dominant feature and visually obtrusive form of development” in south Connemara’s “highly scenic open landscape”.
It also noted that the area was part of the Connemara Bog Complex Special Area of Conservation (SAC), with a “high” landscape sensitivity designation in the current Galway County Development Plan – even though it was also identified as having wind farm potential.
“The development will also have ecological impacts, and while not affecting the integrity of the adjoining SAC, it will impact negatively on the ecological value of the site itself and on its value within the wider area . . . by reason of its nature and scale,” the planning board said.
“The proposed development would seriously injure the amenities of the area, would interfere with the character of the landscape which it is necessary to preserve and would, therefore, be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.”
Welcoming the decision, An Taisce noted that it follows a number of other significant refusals by An Bord Pleanála of wind farms on the basis of ecological impact, particularly in special protection areas for hen harriers and other species protected by the EU birds directive.
The latest decision “highlights the need for an effective national strategy for future wind energy development to reconcile the imperative of meeting renewable energy targets while at the same time protecting biodiversity and our most iconic landscapes”.
An Taisce said the Gaoi an Iarthar Teo application site “should now form part of an extended Connemara mountain and peatland national park area”, and it called on the county council to exclude the site and others like it from the draft wind energy strategy for Co Galway.
The Irish Wind Energy Association, while not wishing to comment on the board’s decision, said there was a need for a forum where industry experts, the Department of the Environment, local authorities and An Bord Pleanála could “engage on planning issues”.
Meanwhile, the wind energy association – with the support of Gaelectric – has launched a new training course for teachers to raise young people’s awareness of Ireland’s “massive reserves of renewable power”.
The “Kid Wind” course can be found at iwea.com
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
Outlet centre may only sell out-of-season clothes
THE KILDARE Village outlet centre has been told that selling up-to-the minute fashions is in breach of its planning permission, planning sources have confirmed.
The determination from An Bord Pleanála was sought by rival retailer David Jones, who operates a number of shops at the Whitewater Shopping Centre in Newbridge, Co Kildare.
The board’s decision, taken at a meeting at the end of May, effectively ruled that Kildare Village centre had only planning permission to sell out-of-season clothes at discount rates and that sales of new products and in-season merchandise in the centre “would constitute a change of use”.
The board said the original permission for the outlet centre had been contingent on it not introducing new products which would be in competition with high street locations.
This was in the interest of protecting existing retail cores in towns and villages, in compliance with traffic management and retail planning guidelines.
Kildare Village is home to some of the best-known fashion brands and regularly offers discounts in the order of 60 per cent. Brands include Polo Ralph Lauren, Furla and DKNY, while internationally renowned Irish fashion designer Louise Kennedy has also opened a unit there.
The village is one of a collection of nine such operations across Europe, operated by Value Retail. Founded in 1992, Value Retail has about 900 outlet boutiques featuring leading fashion and lifestyle brands, located close to some of Europe’s capital cities and intended to be destinations in their own right.
The Whitewater Shopping Centre is Ireland’s largest regional shopping centre and is in the centre of Newbridge.
It incorporates more than 70 top stores including Debenhams, Marks Spencer, Zara and HM, as well as well-known high street brands such as Karen Millen, Coast, Tommy Hilfiger and Pepe.
According to planning sources, the determination from the board is not the first time out-of-town shopping centres have been corrected for breaching conditions on the type of goods offered.
However, the sources said enforcement could be problematic, requiring as it would a specialised knowledge of fashion and retail.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The determination from An Bord Pleanála was sought by rival retailer David Jones, who operates a number of shops at the Whitewater Shopping Centre in Newbridge, Co Kildare.
The board’s decision, taken at a meeting at the end of May, effectively ruled that Kildare Village centre had only planning permission to sell out-of-season clothes at discount rates and that sales of new products and in-season merchandise in the centre “would constitute a change of use”.
The board said the original permission for the outlet centre had been contingent on it not introducing new products which would be in competition with high street locations.
This was in the interest of protecting existing retail cores in towns and villages, in compliance with traffic management and retail planning guidelines.
Kildare Village is home to some of the best-known fashion brands and regularly offers discounts in the order of 60 per cent. Brands include Polo Ralph Lauren, Furla and DKNY, while internationally renowned Irish fashion designer Louise Kennedy has also opened a unit there.
The village is one of a collection of nine such operations across Europe, operated by Value Retail. Founded in 1992, Value Retail has about 900 outlet boutiques featuring leading fashion and lifestyle brands, located close to some of Europe’s capital cities and intended to be destinations in their own right.
The Whitewater Shopping Centre is Ireland’s largest regional shopping centre and is in the centre of Newbridge.
It incorporates more than 70 top stores including Debenhams, Marks Spencer, Zara and HM, as well as well-known high street brands such as Karen Millen, Coast, Tommy Hilfiger and Pepe.
According to planning sources, the determination from the board is not the first time out-of-town shopping centres have been corrected for breaching conditions on the type of goods offered.
However, the sources said enforcement could be problematic, requiring as it would a specialised knowledge of fashion and retail.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 13 June 2011
New chair for An Bord Pleanála
The head of the Environmental Protection Agency was appointed as incoming chair of An Bord Pleanála yesterday.
Dr Mary Kelly is to leave her role as director general of the agency at the end of the summer. She will replace John O’Connor, who is retiring.
Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan said Dr Kelly’s “experience in refocusing and repositioning” the agency as a strong voice for the environment would be an “enormous asset to her” in leading the board.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Dr Mary Kelly is to leave her role as director general of the agency at the end of the summer. She will replace John O’Connor, who is retiring.
Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan said Dr Kelly’s “experience in refocusing and repositioning” the agency as a strong voice for the environment would be an “enormous asset to her” in leading the board.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Environment chief to get top planning job
THE TOP job in Irish planning – the chair of An Bord Pleanála – has been offered to Dr Mary Kelly, who has been director-general of the Environmental Protection Agency since 2002, The Irish Times has learned.
Attempts to contact Dr Kelly yesterday about her imminent appointment by the Government were unsuccessful.
She was recommended by a statutory interview board chaired by President of the High Court Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns. It included the chairman of An Taisce, Charles Stanley-Smith, and the president of the Construction Industry Federation, Matt Gallagher.
Other members of the interview board, as specified by the 1983 Planning Act to ensure an “arm’s length” process, are the chairman of the General Council of County Councils, the president of Ictu and the chief engineering adviser of the Department of the Environment.
Dr Kelly, who holds a PhD in chemistry, has no formal qualifications in planning, architecture or urban design, unlike other applicants such as Michael Wall, who served on the board for nine years, and Karl Kent, its new deputy chairman and former senior planning inspector.
It is understood that Dr Kelly had another six months to run of a two-year extension of her initial seven-year term as director-general of the EPA. She received a salary of €215,043 in 2009, the last year for which figures are publicly available, but may have taken a pay cut since.
The remuneration of the chairman of An Bord Pleanála is linked to that of a High Court judge. However, outgoing chairman John O’Connor – who is due to leave his post today – took a 10 per cent pay cut in 2008, which had the effect of reducing his salary to €206,616.
The intake of planning appeals has almost halved over the past two years, to about 2,900.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Attempts to contact Dr Kelly yesterday about her imminent appointment by the Government were unsuccessful.
She was recommended by a statutory interview board chaired by President of the High Court Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns. It included the chairman of An Taisce, Charles Stanley-Smith, and the president of the Construction Industry Federation, Matt Gallagher.
Other members of the interview board, as specified by the 1983 Planning Act to ensure an “arm’s length” process, are the chairman of the General Council of County Councils, the president of Ictu and the chief engineering adviser of the Department of the Environment.
Dr Kelly, who holds a PhD in chemistry, has no formal qualifications in planning, architecture or urban design, unlike other applicants such as Michael Wall, who served on the board for nine years, and Karl Kent, its new deputy chairman and former senior planning inspector.
It is understood that Dr Kelly had another six months to run of a two-year extension of her initial seven-year term as director-general of the EPA. She received a salary of €215,043 in 2009, the last year for which figures are publicly available, but may have taken a pay cut since.
The remuneration of the chairman of An Bord Pleanála is linked to that of a High Court judge. However, outgoing chairman John O’Connor – who is due to leave his post today – took a 10 per cent pay cut in 2008, which had the effect of reducing his salary to €206,616.
The intake of planning appeals has almost halved over the past two years, to about 2,900.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 2 June 2011
HSE to review removal of statue at Kerry hospital
THE HEALTH Service Executive has been forced to revisit a decision to remove a religious statue from the facade of a Kerry hospital last year, following a ruling this week by An Bord Pleanála.
The board ruled that the removal of the statue was not an “exempted development”, and would require planning permission.
A war of words erupted in March 2010 when the statue, which had been in situ at the landmark Killarney Community Hospital for more than 70 years, was taken down.
It was later relocated to the grounds of the hospital by the HSE but a vociferous campaign, led by mayor of Killarney Cllr Donal Grady, to have the statue returned to its original resting place has this week seen the planning appeals board step into the row.
Killarney Town Council decided in January that the removal of the statue was an “exempted development” that would not require planning permission. This decision was referred to An Bord Pleanála by Mr Grady and the board overturned it.
The HSE had argued that the statue was removed for health and safety reasons, and told the board that, as it was mounted on the flat-roof structure, it did not alter the character of the building structure.
In its ruling, however, the board said the statue constituted a prominent element in the external appearance of Killarney Community Hospital and contributed significantly to the character of the structure.
It also ruled that the removal of the statue materially affects the structure so as “to render the appearance inconsistent with the character of the structure”.
The decision has been welcomed by the mayor: “I always felt it was taken down wrongfully, and that it would have needed planning.
“I always felt they were taking away a part of the history of the town. The ball is in their court now. If I were them, I would put back the statue.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The board ruled that the removal of the statue was not an “exempted development”, and would require planning permission.
A war of words erupted in March 2010 when the statue, which had been in situ at the landmark Killarney Community Hospital for more than 70 years, was taken down.
It was later relocated to the grounds of the hospital by the HSE but a vociferous campaign, led by mayor of Killarney Cllr Donal Grady, to have the statue returned to its original resting place has this week seen the planning appeals board step into the row.
Killarney Town Council decided in January that the removal of the statue was an “exempted development” that would not require planning permission. This decision was referred to An Bord Pleanála by Mr Grady and the board overturned it.
The HSE had argued that the statue was removed for health and safety reasons, and told the board that, as it was mounted on the flat-roof structure, it did not alter the character of the building structure.
In its ruling, however, the board said the statue constituted a prominent element in the external appearance of Killarney Community Hospital and contributed significantly to the character of the structure.
It also ruled that the removal of the statue materially affects the structure so as “to render the appearance inconsistent with the character of the structure”.
The decision has been welcomed by the mayor: “I always felt it was taken down wrongfully, and that it would have needed planning.
“I always felt they were taking away a part of the history of the town. The ball is in their court now. If I were them, I would put back the statue.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Saturday, 23 April 2011
Greystones harbour
Letter to Irish Times re. Greystones Harbour
Madam, – The council holds a bond of at least €5 million to ensure completion of Greystones harbour. This is enough to provide the public square and five free clubhouses. However, the bond is not exercisable until 2014. I believe that these facilities will be completed long before then, but at least we have a backstop date.
This very fine harbour has now been built in less time than Bord Pleanála will have taken to review it on five occasions. When open, it will be seen as the best community harbour in Ireland or Britain .
The delay is frustrating, but it should be seen in the context of the more than 100 years that Greystones has been trying to get the harbour rebuilt. – Yours, etc,
Cllr DEREK MITCHELL,
Manor Avenue,
Greystones, Co Wicklow.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Madam, – The council holds a bond of at least €5 million to ensure completion of Greystones harbour. This is enough to provide the public square and five free clubhouses. However, the bond is not exercisable until 2014. I believe that these facilities will be completed long before then, but at least we have a backstop date.
This very fine harbour has now been built in less time than Bord Pleanála will have taken to review it on five occasions. When open, it will be seen as the best community harbour in Ireland or Britain .
The delay is frustrating, but it should be seen in the context of the more than 100 years that Greystones has been trying to get the harbour rebuilt. – Yours, etc,
Cllr DEREK MITCHELL,
Manor Avenue,
Greystones, Co Wicklow.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 13 April 2011
Planning career changes
WHOEVER is tasked with selecting the new chairman of An Bord Pleanála can expect to be inundated with dusted-off CVs this week ahead of Friday’s deadline to apply for the role.
Incumbent John O’Connor is due to retire in June and an open competition will be held to select his replacement. Given the collapse in demand for planners from the private sector, Around the Block expects some of the sector’s heavy hitters to apply for the role, especially given that many have kept their town-planning sections open in name only, quietly letting all of the staff go while maintaining the illusion that it is still part of their organisation.
Total pay for the post is currently just over €206,000 per annum but that is under review “and may be subject to downward revision prior to appointment”, the booklet for the job states – and there won’t be any overtime. The maximum period of service is seven years.
The board currently receives a public subvention of €12.8m with a further €3.9m expected to come from fee income this year.
Its case load has decreased dramatically with the bursting of the bubble – more than 5,500 cases came before it in 2008 but that fell nearly 50 per cent to 2,900 in 2009 – but it still has to deal with strategic infrastructure applications, such as Metro North and the Dart interconnector in Dublin.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Incumbent John O’Connor is due to retire in June and an open competition will be held to select his replacement. Given the collapse in demand for planners from the private sector, Around the Block expects some of the sector’s heavy hitters to apply for the role, especially given that many have kept their town-planning sections open in name only, quietly letting all of the staff go while maintaining the illusion that it is still part of their organisation.
Total pay for the post is currently just over €206,000 per annum but that is under review “and may be subject to downward revision prior to appointment”, the booklet for the job states – and there won’t be any overtime. The maximum period of service is seven years.
The board currently receives a public subvention of €12.8m with a further €3.9m expected to come from fee income this year.
Its case load has decreased dramatically with the bursting of the bubble – more than 5,500 cases came before it in 2008 but that fell nearly 50 per cent to 2,900 in 2009 – but it still has to deal with strategic infrastructure applications, such as Metro North and the Dart interconnector in Dublin.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 31 March 2011
Withdrawn objection fails to save data centre
PROPOSALS FOR what was billed as one of the world’s largest data centres to be located at Kilpedder, Co Wicklow, have been rejected by An Bord Pleanála.
In an unusual move, the board rejected as too late an attempt by the last of four objectors to withdraw the appeal.
It is not known if the promoters of the 82-acre “digital services campus” which was to have been a centre for the latest cloud-computing technology will launch a new planning application.
In its decision, the board said the site was “a greenfield, unserviced rural area”, between Kilpedder and Newtownmountkennedy, and “not in an area identified for urban growth in the Regional Planning Guidelines for the Greater Dublin Area, 2010-2022”.
It said the site had “an attractive landscape character” being part of the demesne lands of Mount Kennedy House, a protected structure; and that the site was prominent in views from the N11 road.
The board also said the proposed campus was poorly served by public transport and would lead to a reliance on private cars.
It said it was “not satisfied” that the site requirements for a data centre, including high-quality connections to power and communications networks, “cannot be provided on more appropriately located serviced lands in other parts of the greater Dublin area, including Co Wicklow, where a data centre would be more sustainable in terms of environmental impacts and accessibility”.
It cited issues relating to waste water and a nearby private supply, and drainage to sensitive habitats along the coast.
After the proposal was approved by Wicklow County Council, it was referred to the board by four objectors. Three of these, including one from the National Roads Authority, were successfully withdrawn.
However, the board ruled the withdrawal of the fourth appeal from Claus, Iris and Marc Michel based at a nearby organic farm, could not be withdrawn as the withdrawal notification arrived one day after the board had made its decision in the case.
Attempts to get a comment from promoter Brian McDonagh of Ecologic Datacentres were not successful yesterday.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
In an unusual move, the board rejected as too late an attempt by the last of four objectors to withdraw the appeal.
It is not known if the promoters of the 82-acre “digital services campus” which was to have been a centre for the latest cloud-computing technology will launch a new planning application.
In its decision, the board said the site was “a greenfield, unserviced rural area”, between Kilpedder and Newtownmountkennedy, and “not in an area identified for urban growth in the Regional Planning Guidelines for the Greater Dublin Area, 2010-2022”.
It said the site had “an attractive landscape character” being part of the demesne lands of Mount Kennedy House, a protected structure; and that the site was prominent in views from the N11 road.
The board also said the proposed campus was poorly served by public transport and would lead to a reliance on private cars.
It said it was “not satisfied” that the site requirements for a data centre, including high-quality connections to power and communications networks, “cannot be provided on more appropriately located serviced lands in other parts of the greater Dublin area, including Co Wicklow, where a data centre would be more sustainable in terms of environmental impacts and accessibility”.
It cited issues relating to waste water and a nearby private supply, and drainage to sensitive habitats along the coast.
After the proposal was approved by Wicklow County Council, it was referred to the board by four objectors. Three of these, including one from the National Roads Authority, were successfully withdrawn.
However, the board ruled the withdrawal of the fourth appeal from Claus, Iris and Marc Michel based at a nearby organic farm, could not be withdrawn as the withdrawal notification arrived one day after the board had made its decision in the case.
Attempts to get a comment from promoter Brian McDonagh of Ecologic Datacentres were not successful yesterday.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Friday, 4 March 2011
Criticism of approval for 13 wind turbines in Donegal
CONSERVATIONISTS IN Co Donegal have criticised An Bord Pleanála for approving plans by businessman PJ Molloy for 13 “industrial” wind turbines in a scenic Gaeltacht area near Glenties.
Mr Molloy had originally sought permission for 35 Vesta-90 turbines, each with a hub height of 80m and a blade diameter of 90m, but Donegal County Council reduced the number to 19 after seeking further information from the developer.
The Department of the Environment had expressed concern that the proposed wind farm “could significantly damage or destroy” the habitats of freshwater pearl mussel, Atlantic salmon and otters – all protected species under the EU habitats directive.
In its decision, which was subject to 22 conditions, the board required the omission of six of the 19 turbines “to reduce the risk of habitat degradation and environmental pollution associated with development in these locations”.
The board decided, by five votes to two, to grant permission having regard to the National Renewable Energy Action Plan to deliver 40 per cent of electricity from renewable resources by 2020 and the department’s planning guidelines on wind energy.
It also took into account the “general suitability” of the site for a wind farm due to the wind resource available there, and the fact that it lay outside the areas excluded for wind farm development under Donegal County Council’s current development plan.
Other reasons given were that the scale and extent of the proposed development had been reduced relative to the topography of the area, and that permission had already been granted to the ESB for a 110-kilovolt transmission line in the vicinity.
However the locally based Gweebarra Conservation Group said: “No one would sanction felling trees in the rain forest to erect wind turbines yet this is precisely what the Government is doing by giving tax incentives to private investors to destroy our hills and bogs. The boglands in these Gaeltacht townlands . . . are just as important as the rain forests in absorbing CO2.
“These are precious habitats that support a large variety of protected species as well as Irish-speaking families who have lived in this beautiful valley for generations.”
It also expressed concern about health dangers associated with the high-voltage power lines needed to transmit the electricity generated by wind farms. “These power lines are proven to increase cancer rates if located within 2km of people’s homes.”
However another objector, Gerry McKenna, said he believed “we did pretty well reducing the number of turbines from 35 to 13”.
These would also be “well out of sight of the beautiful landscape in the area”, he added.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Mr Molloy had originally sought permission for 35 Vesta-90 turbines, each with a hub height of 80m and a blade diameter of 90m, but Donegal County Council reduced the number to 19 after seeking further information from the developer.
The Department of the Environment had expressed concern that the proposed wind farm “could significantly damage or destroy” the habitats of freshwater pearl mussel, Atlantic salmon and otters – all protected species under the EU habitats directive.
In its decision, which was subject to 22 conditions, the board required the omission of six of the 19 turbines “to reduce the risk of habitat degradation and environmental pollution associated with development in these locations”.
The board decided, by five votes to two, to grant permission having regard to the National Renewable Energy Action Plan to deliver 40 per cent of electricity from renewable resources by 2020 and the department’s planning guidelines on wind energy.
It also took into account the “general suitability” of the site for a wind farm due to the wind resource available there, and the fact that it lay outside the areas excluded for wind farm development under Donegal County Council’s current development plan.
Other reasons given were that the scale and extent of the proposed development had been reduced relative to the topography of the area, and that permission had already been granted to the ESB for a 110-kilovolt transmission line in the vicinity.
However the locally based Gweebarra Conservation Group said: “No one would sanction felling trees in the rain forest to erect wind turbines yet this is precisely what the Government is doing by giving tax incentives to private investors to destroy our hills and bogs. The boglands in these Gaeltacht townlands . . . are just as important as the rain forests in absorbing CO2.
“These are precious habitats that support a large variety of protected species as well as Irish-speaking families who have lived in this beautiful valley for generations.”
It also expressed concern about health dangers associated with the high-voltage power lines needed to transmit the electricity generated by wind farms. “These power lines are proven to increase cancer rates if located within 2km of people’s homes.”
However another objector, Gerry McKenna, said he believed “we did pretty well reducing the number of turbines from 35 to 13”.
These would also be “well out of sight of the beautiful landscape in the area”, he added.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Plans for 40m hospital attacked
Clare County Council has come under fire at an oral hearing for giving the go-ahead to contentious plans for a €40 million hospital in Ennis.
In his closing submission to a hearing by An Bord Pleanála into the 100-bed hospital proposal, planning consultant Brendan McGrath said the council’s interpretation of its development plan “amounts to a judgment that a 100-bed hospital could be located on any land zoned for development within the settlement boundary of the town”.
Mr McGrath added: “Such an approach does not accord with broader principles of urban design and sustainable settlement planning.”
A decision is due on the plan later this year.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
In his closing submission to a hearing by An Bord Pleanála into the 100-bed hospital proposal, planning consultant Brendan McGrath said the council’s interpretation of its development plan “amounts to a judgment that a 100-bed hospital could be located on any land zoned for development within the settlement boundary of the town”.
Mr McGrath added: “Such an approach does not accord with broader principles of urban design and sustainable settlement planning.”
A decision is due on the plan later this year.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
Objection to works rejected
AN OBJECTION by the National Roads Authority to the expansion of a nursing home in Co Tipperary has been rejected by An Bord Pleanála.
The authority appealed a decision by the planning office of North Tipperary County Council to grant the owners of Patterson Nursing Home at Lismackin, Roscrea, permission to construct an extension at the rear. A total of 15 conditions were attached to the granting of planning last September to owners Thomas and Betty Patterson, but the authority objected on safety grounds.
Appealing the decision to An Bord Pleanála, the authority highlighted concerns over the development and stated the nursing home was located on the N62 national primary road where the maximum speed limit applies. It pointed out any further development would “endanger the public safety by reason of a traffic hazard”.
The planning appeals board’s inspector recommended refusal of the plan but the board later decided to grant permission. The board took into account the fact there was already a nursing home on the site, the planning history of the site and the proposed acquisition of more land for the additional sites as mitigating factors.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The authority appealed a decision by the planning office of North Tipperary County Council to grant the owners of Patterson Nursing Home at Lismackin, Roscrea, permission to construct an extension at the rear. A total of 15 conditions were attached to the granting of planning last September to owners Thomas and Betty Patterson, but the authority objected on safety grounds.
Appealing the decision to An Bord Pleanála, the authority highlighted concerns over the development and stated the nursing home was located on the N62 national primary road where the maximum speed limit applies. It pointed out any further development would “endanger the public safety by reason of a traffic hazard”.
The planning appeals board’s inspector recommended refusal of the plan but the board later decided to grant permission. The board took into account the fact there was already a nursing home on the site, the planning history of the site and the proposed acquisition of more land for the additional sites as mitigating factors.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
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