Slane bypass: former attorney general seeks High Court’s permission to appeal

A former attorney general is seeking permission to appeal the High Court’s dismissal of his challenge to the planning approval granted for a long-delayed bypass road in Co Meath.

John Rogers, a senior counsel, argued in his action that An Coimisiún Pleanála did not have access to sufficient expertise required to examine certain environmental impacts of the proposed N2 bypass at Slane when it granted Meath County Council permission for the development.

In a judgment last month, Judge David Nolan said he had “serious doubts” as to whether the commission had the expertise to deal with “important issues” raised by Rogers’s case.

However, he found the case had not proven a lack of expertise on the part of the commission “on an evidential basis”. In the circumstances, the judge found “without much enthusiasm” that Rogers had not discharged the required burden of proof and dismissed the case.

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Barrister Michael Cush, appearing for Rogers, told the judge on Monday that he had instructions to seek permission to appeal the decision. Certain types of cases require a litigant to obtain the High Court’s permission to bring a challenge to the Court of Appeal.

The judge set a hearing date for the Rogers side’s application for leave to appeal. He made directions for exchange of documents between parties ahead of the hearing.

In his action, Rogers, of Crewbane, Slane, argued that the proposed bypass would impact his lands.

In an affidavit, he submitted that petrifying streams in his lands would be particularly affected by the development. Crewbane marsh floods a number of times a year and the commission had not obtained expert hydrology advice about the impact of proposed deep trenching for the proposed route, he said.

The road project would involve the construction of a 3.5km-long bypass around Slane village, and include a dual carriageway and a 258m-long bridge over the river Boyne.

The project would run adjacent to the Unesco Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site of Outstanding Natural Value, which includes the Neolithic passage tomb at Newgrange.