Opposition mounts to 95,000 tonne/year recycling plant near Watergrasshill
Local residents Grace, Kate, Carol and Tom Murray, Cllr Sheila O'Callaghan, Clare O'Leary, John Fouhy, Steve, DJ, Fran, Emily and Jennifer Cronin and Dermot O'Mahony, objecting to the recycling centre at Ardnegeehy Woods in Watergrasshill. Picture: Eddie O'Hare
Major opposition is mounting to the proposed development of a 95,000 tonne-per-year recycling plant close to a North Cork village in woodland which can only be accessed by a very poor road infrastructure.
Enrich Environmental Ltd has sought planning permission for the project on Coillte-owned forestry at Ardnageehy, just outside Watergrasshill, on the Glenville road.
Locals say they are stunned by the application, especially as €68m has been spent on developing and maintaining a landfill/recycling site created by Cork County Council just a few kilometres away at Bottlehill. It remains mothballed and has the capacity and road network to cope with projects such as the one proposed by Enrich Environmental.
Fears have been raised about the volume of HGVs which would pass by Watergrasshill’s church, community centre and school on the way to the site if the application is approved. Locals have also expressed serious concern about the environmental impact the facility could have.
Fianna Fáil councillor Sheila O’Callaghan, who lives in Watergrasshill, said the village already suffers from a constant stream of traffic which exits the M8 at junction 17 to avoid the toll. She is worried about the consequences of more HGVs coming into the area if the application is approved.
She said digital feedback signs indicate that, on average, 3,500 vehicles do this daily. “Where the proposed development is located means vans and HGVs must drive through the village and negotiate a tight narrow junction located between The Fir Tree Bar and the church,” Ms O’Callaghan said.
"To add an extra 20 to 30 HGV's daily to this route would impact the businesses trying to operate in the village and could impact on the safety of residents and all other road users. The infrastructure in close proximity to the proposed site is just not sufficient to support this kind of development."
She said as Enrich Environmental Ltd is proposing to locate the large-scale development in the centre of forestry, meaning mature trees must be felled and removed.
Ms O'Callaghan said:
"The construction of wastewater tanks is also listed on the planning notice.”
Padraig McHugh, a father of three young children who lives 300m from the site, said locals have major concerns about the impact on the local environment and ecosystems and potential pollution of the waterways. The River Bride and Blackwater Special Area of Conservation is just 900m away.
"I am very worried about possible health implications from being so close to this industrial facility and about odour and noise coming from it. The facility will be clearly visible from both the villages of Watergrasshill and Glenville and will impact on an area of natural beauty," he said.
Cork County Council has already been told by an expert representing objectors there are multiple springs and streams flowing in this forest and the water from them flows into Glashnabrack and Bride rivers — both Special Areas of Conservation.
Locals are also concerned about the impact on flora and fauna from such a development in an area, which is home to red squirrels, otters, buzzards, trout and wild Atlantic salmon spawning grounds. Enrich Environmental Ltd declined to comment.
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