An Bord Pleanála urged to reject bio-energy plant application

SOUTH Tipperary County Council has urged An Bord Pleanála to reject the application of a company that wants to develop an animal by-products processing plant in a rural area close to horse training and breeding establishments.

Council officials yesterday defended their decision to turn down an application by Green Organics Energy (GOE) Ltd for permission to develop a bio-energy plant, which would use by-products from slaughterhouses, at a site in Castleblake, Rosegreen, halfway between Clonmel and Cashel.

Speaking at a Bord Pleanála hearing into GOE’s appeal council senior planner James O’Mahony said that the reports prepared by and for the council, along with the “public disquiet” as evidenced by close to 1,000 submissions and observations, meant that any decision other than to refuse permission would be “contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area”.