Landfill site fails to be approved by Bord Pleanala

An Bord Pleanála has refused planning permission for a landfill site near Mallow, Co Cork, because of the "excessive volumes of waste" it would receive.

The appeals board said it was upholding an earlier local authority refusal of permission for the site because it contravened both the Cork Waste Management Plan and Cork County Development Plan.

An Bord Pleanála said the proposed development was premature."It has not been demonstrated that the additional landfill capacity proposed is required to meet the needs of the Cork region and the adjoining mid-west and south-east regions, having regard to the requirements to reduce the volumes of waste going to landfill."

Greenstar Recycling Ltd, the company that planned to establish the landfill, said yesterday it was "extremely disappointed" by the decision.

"Cork, like many other counties in Ireland, has a serious waste management problem. Greenstar remains confident in the suitability of the lands at Ballyguyroe for use as a residual landfill," it said in a statement.

The company said it would consider its options once it had examined the full notice.

A campaigner against the site, Ms Mary Mannix, of the Glenanaar Valley Community Group, said she was "delighted and relieved" by the decision. "It's been quite a long struggle, but finally we can draw breath."

However, she said the group was still objecting to the proposed decision by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to grant Greenstar a waste licence.

The proposal for the greenfield site at Ballyguyroe would have catered for 145,000 tonnes of waste per year with 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. The company appealed the refusal to An Bord Pleanála in February 2002. But the appeals board upheld the council's decision.

Celtic Waste Ltd was subsequently renamed as Greenstar Recycling Holdings Ltd, and under its new name made a fresh application for planning permission in October 2003. But Cork County Council again refused planning permission in December 2003.

Greenstar operates a Materials Recovery Facility at Glanmire outside Cork city where domestic and commercial non-hazardous waste is sorted and separated, with recyclable materials sent for recycling to other companies and non-recyclable materials being sent to Greenstar's KTK residual landfill in Co Kildare and the Cork City Council landfill on Kinsale Road.

The KTK facility - the first private sector landfill site to be fully licensed by the EPA - has been in operation near Kilcullen in Co Kildare since 1999, and has the capacity to deal with 242,000 tonnes of non-hazardous commercial and industrial waste.

The 50-acre site won an award for the best landfill operation in Ireland and the UK in 2002.