High Court quashes permission for biogas plant on outskirts of Tullamore
Judge says An Bord Pleanala was wrong to give facility in Tullamore the green light
THE High Court has overturned a grant of permission for a biogas facility in Tullamore.
Offaly County Council originally refused permission for the proposed plant at Ballyduff, beside Axis Business Park, but the developer Strategic Power got the green light following an appeal to An Bord Pleanala.
The board's decision was then challenged in the High Court by a neighbouring business, the Grafton Group, owner of Chadwick's, which is still known locally as Tullamore Hardware.
In a judgment published last week, Ms Justice Emily Farrell quashed the Bord Pleanala order granting permission to Strategic Power.
The biogas facility was opposed by Chadwick's, local residents and businesses. It was to be built on a greenfield site of more than two hectares across the road from Axis Business Park close to Tullamore Town soccer club.
In an observation made to An Bord Pleanala, Axis Business Park opposed permission for the plant, saying it did not meet the employment requirements for the Strategic Employment Zone in which it was to be located.
Axis Business Park argued that the environmental impacts arising from the proposed plant, including odours, traffic and noise, would have the effect of making business park a less attractive location for businesses.
The business park operators said it accommodated 40 businesses with about 440 employees.
Ms Justice Farrell found that the creation of between 50 and 70 jobs during the 12-month construction phase, and four or five jobs in the plant afterwards, would be insufficient to comply with zoning in the Offaly Development Plan.
“It is not possible to ascertain from the Board Decision or Order, or the Inspector’s Report, why permission was granted for a development creating such low employment on a relatively large site within a Strategic Employment Zone,” said the judge.
She concluded that the proposed development amounted to a material contravention of the County Development Plan.
Ms Justice Farrell also ruled that the board had relied on “an irrelevant consideration”, the absence of significant adverse environmental effects, in deciding whether or not the proposed development was consistent with the zoning.
The judge also agreed with the Grafton Group's contention that An Bord Pleanala had been wrong not to publish an Environmental Impact Assessment Report on its website.
The board had argued that it did not need to do so because the report had already been published by Offaly County Council.
The board's inspector had said the proposed development would be unlikely to have a significant negative impact on the business park, the football club and a creche/Montessori school in Axis Business Park.
Strategic Power planned to produce renewable energy and organic fertiliser through anaerobic digestion of farm by-products including silage, manure and chicken litter.
The board's inspector described the development as “an industrial facility with large scale storage and processing vessels, boiler stack and flare for the flaring of gas”.
The inspector considered mitigation measures for noise and air pollution adequate.
When the plant got the go-ahead from An Bord Pleanala in 2022 Strategic Power said such projects were badly needed in Ireland.
The company said the plant would provide a nutrient-rich digestate which would be used as an organic bio-fertiliser, which would then be returned to the supply farms, closing the circular economy model and reducing the requirement for imported chemical/synthetic fertilisers.
The plant aimed to produce 40GWh of renewable gas per year for sale to domestic and industrial gas users. The biomethane could also be used a low emissions fuel for heavy goods vehicles.
Paul Carson, managing director, Strategic Power said at the time: “We are incredibly encouraged by the outcome of this planning decision. The deployment of AD [anaerobic digestion] plants in Ireland is urgently needed in order to meet its target for 20% renewable gas on the network by 2030.
“When operational, the development at Tullamore will have a positive and long-term impact on the local, regional and national economy. It will generate direct and indirect employment as well as bringing tremendous wider benefits to the agriculture industry.
“The site at Ballyduff was selected after careful consideration of all environmental aspects and we are delighted that An Bord Pleanala have endorsed our assessment that this is an acceptable site for an Agri AD plant. We are aware of the concerns of local residents and are committed to operating as good neighbours.
“We are developing this Agri AD plant in partnership with Nicholas Molloy, a progressive young farmer based on the edge of Tullamore town. Nicholas has recently built a successful dairy unit and quickly expanded it alongside his already substantial tillage and beet operation. We are fortunate to work with Nicholas on this project – his expertise, commitment and support throughout the design and planning process has been tremendous and we look forward to building on that relationship through the long-term supply arrangement for the plant.”
Residents of Rahan Road expressed shock at the Bord Pleanala decision.
"We will not stand for this apparent blatant disregard for the opinions of the common man over big business," said Paschal Fox, residents' association chair.
The residents feared that a minimum of 30 loads of farm manure per day would be carried into the site by trucks.