Dublin Airport runway generates 15 appeals

An Taisce and Green Party TD Trevor Sargent are among 15 appellants to An Bord Pleanála against a proposed runway at Dublin Airport.

An Taisce says that, although the runway proposal is part of a larger project to accommodate the expansion of Dublin Airport, it is being put forward without strategic environmental assessment.

"We submit that the lodging of consent applications for the individual elements of an airport expansion envisaged to cater for 30 million passengers by 2020 is premature unless appropriate assessment is carried out," says An Taisce.

It also calls for "mitigation measures with regard to noise, transport generation and greenhouse gas emissions".

An Taisce contends that any plan for airport expansion in the absence of a metro proposal "implemented within the most achievable timetable" is untenable and should be disregarded.

In his appeal, Trevor Sargent TD says the projected figures of the numbers that will use Dublin Airport "in years to come" do not correspond "with the peak on oil production and its effect on the affordability of air travel in the future".

He says that the potential impact on residential areas under the proposed new flight path has not been assessed and says that a lack of any cost-benefit analysis to evaluate "the sterilisation of valuable public land or other options does not accord with good planning".

Portmarnock Community Association says that the planning application is not subject to any licensing agreement from the EPA.

"It would be our submission that it is the duty of the board to evaluate and adjudicate on land planning use and environmental issues affecting the quality of life or health of residents, passengers and workers associated with the project," according to the community association.