State supplier in breach of planning laws

A CONCRETE firm operating part of a massive facility without planning permission is supplying material to one of the State’s biggest road building projects.

This is despite national guidelines issued by the National Roads’ Authority (NRA) that local authorities buy supplies only from individuals or companies which are fully compliant with all regulations.

Cork County Council confirmed yesterday that its planning enforcement section is investigating the operations of Slattery’s Precast Concrete Ltd in north Cork.

Slattery’s is supplying readymix concrete to the company building the €200m Fermoy bypass - a Public Private Partnership joint venture deal with the NRA and the council.

Slattery’s was granted planning permission by retention for a precast concrete operation at its facility near Rathcormac in 1996.

But the company expanded and is operating a readymix concrete facility on the same site without planning permission.

Its readymix is being used to build a central barrier along the 17.5km Fermoy motorway.

Following a string of complaints from locals, the council took enforcement action against the company earlier this year.

Slattery’s then applied on September 19 for retention for an extension to its concrete production facilities, including enlarged site boundaries.

However, the council has within the last fortnight sought extra information from the company and is awaiting a response.

Despite repeated attempts, Paddy Slattery was unavailable for comment.

A spokesman for Direct Route Fermoy Ltd, the firm overseeing the bypass construction, said he was unaware of Slattery’s planning irregularities.

“We are not aware of it but this is something we wouldn’t encourage,” a spokesman said.

“We would have been acting in good faith. We buy from numerous suppliers who have behaved responsibly all the time.”

But he said he would talk to the council and the NRA with a view to taking some form of action if required.

But ultimately, it is a matter for Slattery’s and the local authority, he said.

The Quarry and Concrete Family Alliance, which investigates quarry and concrete operations, said the Slattery’s case is one of the worst it has come across.

“Precast concrete production and readymix concrete production are two distinct and separate activities with radically different impacts on planning parameters,” spokesman Seamus Maye said.

“By allowing the continuation of readymix concrete production, the council is effectively rewarding the developer for the blatant disregard of planning law and is itself a party to such breaches.”

Locals have constantly complained to the council’s planning enforcement section about Slattery’s operations.

They said they have recorded between 250 and 300 truck movements per day from the plant, and numerous incidents of truck movements outside the firm’s licensed operating hours.

Meanwhile, work on the bypass is advancing ahead of schedule.