Tralee biotechnology firm given go-ahead by An Bord Pleanala for seaweed intake building

Kerry County Council had initially refused permission because of ‘potential odour’ and the board’s planning inspector had also recommended refusal.

An Bord Pleanala has given the go-ahead for a goods intake building for fresh seaweed in a leading biotechnology company in Tralee, Co Kerry.

BioAtlantis has welcomed the decision saying this will add to job numbers.

In a statement this morning BioAtlantis said it ‘welcomes An Bord Pleanala’s decision to grant permission for the construction of a building to receive deliveries of seaweed, an essential component of BioAtlantis’ products and technologies.’ 

 BioAtlantis’ activities fully aligned with the Government’s Bioeconomy Action Plan 2023-2025 and the Kerry County Development Plan 2022-2028 regarding the development of the manufacturing and the marine sectors in Kerry, it said.

The company employs over 50 people in Tralee and is set to expand its workforce further with new development. BioAtlantis is a leading innovator in the Irish bioeconomy, delivering environmentally friendly and sustainable solutions to its customers in over 35 countries worldwide, it said.

Kerry County Council had refused permission because of ‘potential odour’ and the board’s planning inspector had also recommended refusal.

The council had not been satisfied ‘potential odour issues’ from the preliminary chopping and processing of seaweed at the BioAtlantis Plant in the southeastern end of the Clash Industrial Estate in Tralee would not affect nearby housing.

The new building will be situated 148m from the closest dwelling in the Fountain Court estate and 124m from closest dwelling on Ballinorig Road. 

The company established in 2004 entered the crop biostimulant market in 2007 with stress mitigation as a central strategy. The operations at the BioAtlantis Ltd plant comprise the washing of seaweed, chopping of seaweed, extraction of seaweed extracts, purification of seaweed and seaweed extracts along with packaging and storage of products. 

The 435sq m goods intake building is to further mechanise the raw seaweed intake. Lorries would drop off the fresh seaweed in bags to the new building and this would be then chopped and washed before being transported into the production area.

This represented a change to the taking in of chopped dried seaweed to the production building, the council felt.

‘We have concerns that the proposed activities at the proposed goods intake building may pose an additional odour risk from the facility,’ Kerry County Council said, refusing planning.

BioAtlantis, which was established twenty years ago, appealed the decision. It was always the intention to process both dry seaweed and fresh seaweed in the facility as part of that planning application, the company said.

The council were informed of the odours that would be produced by the fresh seaweed, the company said.

Kerry County Council Environment Department did not give any technical reasons for this assumption about ‘potential odour’ the company also said, submitting a lengthy Odour Analysis report.

An Bord Pleanala’s inspector also took ‘a precautionary approach’ and recommended refusal.

However, the board decided not to accept the inspector’s recommendation to refuse.

In granting permission, An Bord Pleanala had regard ‘to the development plans to promote the growth of the manufacturing sector in Kerry and the objectives to support the existing diverse nature of the marine sector in Kerry,’ it said.

Several conditions including storing raw materials within the enclosed facility were attached to protect neighbouring residential properties in the area.