Plan for landfill facility turned down by ABP
Plans to develop a large waste management facility on a site outside Rochfortbridge have been turned down by An Bord Pleanála.
Offaly County Council granted planning permission, subject to 23 conditions, to Oxigen Environmental Unlimited Company on November 7 last year for the major landfill development at a rural location called Derryarkin, around 4km from Rochfortbridge.
The 1,417 square metre site, which is owned by Oxigen, is off the R400 between Rochfortbridge and Rhode. The development would have had the capacity to process up to 90,000 tonnes of waste a year.
Residents in the vicinity mounted a campaign of opposition, which resulted in more than 100 submissions to the planning authority, a large number of which were from people in the Rochfortbridge area.
Issues raised included concerns about proximity to houses, traffic, smell at the facility, noise and it not being compatible with the rewetting of nearby bogs.
In its ruling, An Bord Pleanála cited two reasons for refusing permission for the facility, including concerns about access to the proposed development via “a narrow rural road” that already provides vehicular access for “substantial existing commercial development” adjoining the site, and exiting to the R400 regional road.
The board noted that the R400 is already identified in the Offaly County Development Plan as being a “Restricted Regional Route” and said it was “not satisfied” that the proposed development, in conjunction with the large amount of existing commercial development in the same area would not be likely to create a traffic hazard and endanger public safety “from conflict of vehicles on a substandard rural road”.
It also said it could be “in conflict” with the Development Plan policy for the R400 “through the creation of additional vehicular traffic on an identified restricted regional route.”
An Bord Pleanála also noted that the nature of the proposed development by Oxigen was “distinct from” the pig farm, quarry and wind farm developments adjoining or proximate to the appeal site, and described those developments as being “location specific in the rural area”.
The Oxigen planning application was also refused on the grounds that it could “adversely affect” the integrity of two European sites, the River Boyne and the River Blackwater Special Areas of Conservation.
“In such circumstances, the Board is precluded from granting permission,” the ruling stated, adding that that conclusion is based on lack of certainty in relation to the use of water for firefighting and the inadequacy of proposed monitoring of “surface water discharges”.
The ruling from An Bord Pleanála was accompanied by a 105-page Inspector’s Report that examined all aspects of the proposed development in detail.
Two third-party appeals were submitted to An Bord Pleanála, one by newly-elected Fianna Fáil councillor for the Edenderry Electoral Area, Claire Murray, on behalf of the residents of Rhode and Croghan Community, and the second by Cathryn Whelehan, on behalf of the concerned residents in Rochfortbridge.