Michael O'Leary fails with initial objection to wind farm plans near Gigginstown Stud

An Bord Pleanála has the green light to wind farm developer to retain and increase the height to 100m of an existing 80m-high despite strong objections to the proposal

Michael O'Leary is against windfarm plans near his stud farm.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary has lost out in a planning row concerning the first phase of an “industrial scale” wind-farm near his Gigginstown House Stud in Co Westmeath.

This follows An Bord Pleanála giving the green light to wind farm developers Bracklyn Windfarm Ltd to retain and increase the height to 100m of an existing 80m-high meteorological mast at Bracklyn, Co Westmeath, near Mr O’Leary’s stud farm operation.

The mast is being used to measure wind speeds for the area as part of research Bracklyn is carrying out ahead of its plans to lodge a planning application for a nine-turbine wind farm for the site.

An Bord Pleanála has granted planning permission for the met mast for five years after concluding that the proposed mast would not seriously injure the amenities of the area and would not significantly impact on the ecological or cultural heritage of the area.

Strident opposition

The appeals board has granted planning permission despite the strident opposition against the proposal by Mr O’Leary’s Gigginstown House Stud.

Along with Gigginstown appealing the Westmeath County Council decision to grant planning permission, two other parties also appealed – the Devlin Wind Information Group and Conor Milligan.

In all, 30 parties objected to the mast when it was before Westmeath County Council.

Objecting to the plan, planning consultant for Mr O’Leary’s Gigginstown, Ray Ryan of BMA Planning, stated that Gigginstown Stud is “one of Ireland’s leading bloodstock farms, with an internationally prominent reputation, who have a direct interest in the development, as 180 acres of their lands adjoin the Bracklyn estate, which is the proposed site of this development”.

Mr Ryan said it appears the mast is a precursor to a planning application "for a large-scale wind farm project" and is currently being promoted in the locality.

Mr Ryan said “it should be explained what meteorological data is required by the applicant to support the case for excessively high wind turbines in this area that could not be gathered in the timelines presented”.

Mr Ryan said the council has granted the request for a five-year permission without any justification as to the needs of this timescale and that it should be rejected.

Not justified

He also argued that the proposal to increase the height of the mast by 20% is not justified and is not supported by the visual impact assessment on the receiving environment.

In its appeal, the Devlin Wind Information Group told An Bord Pleanála: “Our group strongly objects to this application for the retention of the current met mast and size increase that precedes the proposed development of an industrial-scale wind farm in this low-lying flat area”.

The group said allowing the continued use of the met mast “could lead to a proposed large-scale wind-farm being constructed in an area that is deemed unsuitable due to its low wind capacity and, therefore, there should be no requirement to allow a met mast test conditions for a potential wind farm”.

The proposed wind farm development is being led by the Gaeltech Energy Group. It has written to the local community to say the proposed wind-farm will deliver “a substantial community fund” working out at €16,000 per turbine per year over the lifetime of the wind farm.