Board throws out super dump plan

PROPOSALS to build a €14 million super dump which would have taken 1.5 million tonnes of waste have been turned down by An Bord Pleanála.

Residents living near the site on the Cork-Limerick border have been celebrating news that a private refuse disposal company, Celtic Waste, has been refused permission by an Bord Pleanála for the landfill which was set to have a lifetime of 10 years.

Last January, Cork County Council refused permission to the Dublin-based company to develop an 80-acre site at Ballyguyroe, near the north Cork village of Kildorrery. The company then appealed to An Board Pleanála.

Ironically, the council had itself run a large landfill in nearby forestry for 10 years. Following a High Court battle with locals the council was forced to close that facility in September 2001.

“We are very pleased with the decision of An Bord Pleanála. It would have had an adverse impact on the environment and on health,” Kildorrery Anti-Dump Group chairman John Geary said.

He said his group, which represents more than 500 local people, had endured enough over the years battling to prevent the continued use of the local authority dump and were horrified when that closed to be faced with the prospect of an even larger facility on their doorsteps.

“The decision represented a good day for local democracy,” Mr Geary said.

Mother-of-three Mary Mannix, who lives close to the site, said she was also delighted with the decision.

“It was not fair for a rural community to be overshadowed by such a large dump. If the decision had gone the other way a lot of locals would have moved out. I have three small children and I’d be worried about their health,” Ms Mannix said.

An Bord Pleanála decided that the Celtic Waste proposal didn’t fit in with the Cork County Development Plan. The company would have taken in waste from Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford.

Celtic Waste deputy chairman Mike Winne said the company was examining its options.

He said the Ballyguyroe project was part of a wider 42 million investment plan which the company had for the Cork area.

The company has already received planning permission for a materials recovery facility in Glanmire, Co Cork and is set to submit another plan for one at Forge Hill, on the southside of the city.

“Ballyguyroe was part of an integrated waste management plan. Cork alone produces 400,000 tonnes of waste a year. The Kinsale Road landfill is nearly full and the county council’s proposed landfill at Bottlehill is a good way off. Where is the waste going to go? I wonder if it’s incineration through the back door,” Mr Winne said.

He said he was amazed at An Bord Pleanála’s decision.

“The county council can’t afford its waste management bill and we haven’t got enough residual landfills,” he said.

Mr Winne said he was “baffled” by the decision and claimed that the lack of properly operated landfills would lead to increased illegal dumping.