Co Cork landfill ruling awaited

Campaigners against a proposed landfill site have expressed confidence that An Bord Pleanála will uphold a local authority refusal…

Campaigners against a proposed landfill site have expressed confidence that An Bord Pleanála will uphold a local authority refusal of planning permission for the site.

This is despite a proposed decision by the Environmental Protection Agency to grant the operator of the site a waste licence.

Ms Mary Mannix of the Glenanaar Valley Community Group in south Limerick confirmed that the group would be gathering signatures to object to the EPA decision to give a licence to Greenstar Recycling Holdings for its proposed residual landfill at Ballyguyroe near Kildorrery, Co Cork.

"When we objected to the planning permission application we had around 300 signatures, but only a handful of people objected to the EPA licence application, and now we will be making contact with all those people to get as many signatures as possible to the EPA before July 1st when the time for objections expires," said Ms Mannix.

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She expressed confidence that members of the Kildorrery Anti-Group would also be lodging an objection to the proposed decision by the EPA to license the landfill. A spokesman for the Kildorrery Action Group was not available for comment yesterday.

Ms Mannix said Glenanaar Valley residents were confident that An Bord Pleanála would today uphold a refusal by Cork County Council to give Greenstar planning permission for the site.

The Labour TD for Cork East, Mr Joe Sherlock, also said he was confident that the proposed development by Greenstar for Ballyguyroe North would be turned down by An Bord Pleanála.

Greenstar Recycling Holdings is proposing the establishment of a residual landfill site for non-hazardous and commercial waste on a 70-acre greenfield site at Ballyguyroe.

The actual proposed disposal area will occupy 27 acres of the site, will consist of eight cells, will cater for 145,000 tonnes of waste per year and has a projected lifespan of 10 years.

The first application for the site was made by Celtic Waste Ltd in June 2001, but Cork County Council refused planning permission in January 2002, and the company subsequently appealed the refusal to An Bord Pleanála in February 2002. But the appeals board upheld the council's decision and refused planning in November 2002.

Celtic Waste Ltd was subsequently renamed as Greenstar Recycling Holdings Ltd and under its new name made a new application for planning permission in October 2003, but Cork County Council again refused planning permission in December 2003. Greenstar appealed that refusal to An Bord Pleanála and a decision is expected today.

Yesterday Greenstar Recycling Holdings declined to comment on its latest appeal, but the company did welcome the proposed decision by the Environmental Protection Agency to grant the company a waste licence for the landfill at Ballyguyroe.