Celebrations in Ballydoyle as animal plant gets planning refusal

CHAMPAGNE corks were popping in Ballydoyle stables last night and across the wider Golden Vale as campaigners celebrated the decision by South Tipperary County Council to refuse planning permission for a controversial animal waste plant.

Champion racehorse trainer Aidan O’Brien and his wife Anne-Marie threatened to pull the multimillion Ballydoyle racing empire from the area if the plant went ahead. Their stable is 3km miles from the proposed plant at Castleblake outside Cashel.

“Aidan and I, together with all the staff at Ballydoyle are very relieved. This decision shows that the county council has recognised both the importance of the horse business to south Tipperary economically and the threat to human and animal health and welfare posed by this national rendering and waste plant,” said Anne-Marie O’Brien.