Tears were shed yesterday as statements were made on the first day of An Bord Pleanala's oral hearing into a proposed £30 million cement factory in Tooreen, Kilkelly, for which Frank Harrington Limited was granted planning permission by Mayo County Council in December.
The hearing was to hear planning matters only, but objectors sought to raise issues about the operation of the plant. A Bord Pleanala inspector, Mr Karl Kent, explaining that the board had allowed three days for the full hearing of the case, accepted there was an overlap of evidence between matters of concern for the Environmental Protection Agency, with regard to the operation of the plant, and the planning concerns affecting the board.
Despite interjections by Mr Michael O'Donnell, for Frank Harrington Limited, in relation to what he said was the bias such broad-ranging objections would create against his client, Mr Kent allowed witnesses to speak.
Members of the Tooreen Action Group said a cement factory would have a direct impact on their lives and future. They appealed to Mr Harrington, who sat opposite the objectors at the hearing in the Travellers Friend Hotel in Castlebar, not to proceed. They asked him to consider the stress and anxiety his proposal was already causing. When complete, the cement factory is expected to produce between 350,000 to 500,000 tonnes of cement a year which would be produced from a coal-fired kiln operating every hour of the year.
The chairman of the Tooreen Action Group, Mr Peter Cassidy, summarised a series of objections: that the plant could create a risk to the health of locals through emissions of air, dust and noise during the construction and operation phase; that it would create unacceptable traffic dangers on a road network that is already weak in the area; that families living in the vicinity of the plant would find it necessary to relocate; that the development breaches the Mayo County Development plan with regard to scenic landscapes; that it may harm the water system in the area; that houses may suffer structural damage during blasting at the site; that noise levels would rise to more than 45 decibels at night; and that the community has little faith the developers would adhere to guidelines to be laid down by the EPA and the 17 conditions subject to which Mayo County Council planning permission was granted.
Cases against the development were also made by representatives of the North Western Fisheries Board, the Carra Mask Anglers, the Tooreen Hurling Club, the Tooreen Tourism and Cultural Association and Tooreen National School and play group. [Q L]
Mr Michael Bailey for Frank Harrington Limited said when completed, it would be a state-of-the-art and modern cement production and processing plant. "The total site area comprises 129 acres and the limestone raw material will be quarried immediately beside the site. It will also require the removal of some dwellings and some landscaping so we envisage extending the existing quarry to provide the raw material," he said.
The hearing resumes today.