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The High Court has agreed to have An Bord Pleanála’s decision to refuse planning permission for a waste-to-energy facility in Ringaskiddy, Cork judicially reviewed following an application on behalf of Indaver Ireland, a waste management services company.
New information has emerged concerning a core reason cited by An Bord Pleanála to refuse the original planning application. Documents obtained by Indaver Ireland under Access to Information on the Environment Regulations raise the prospect that An Bord Pleanála may have been unaware of a May 2010 decision by Cork County Council to cancel plans to build an alternative waste facility in Cork.
This development is relevant for two reasons:
1. 10 months previous to the May 2010 decision, Cork County Council referenced its plans to build this alternative facility as among the primary reasons it objected to Indaver's application.
2. 13 months after the May 2010 decision, An Bord Pleanála cited the Cork regional plan and the Council’s plans to build its own waste facility as among the primary reasons for refusing Indaver's application.
The documentation also shows that Cork County Council, which exited the waste collection service in September 2010, is now expressing concerns about its ability to meet its landfill diversion targets. A Cork County Council-commissioned review into the future of the Bottlehill landfill is pending publication. Meanwhile, the county’s only existing landfill located in Youghal will close later this year.
A spokesperson for Indacer Ireland said: "Indaver had no desire to take the legal course which we have embarked upon, however it is the only mechanism open to us to highlight the fact that the Board may not have had a complete picture of the true state of waste plans in Cork when it made its decision.
"The emergence of this new information is highly significant. Cork County Council, perhaps given the changed economic circumstances, took a decision in May 2010 which means it could not deliver on its local waste plan – the same plan An Bord Pleanála referenced when refusing our application. We hope that An Bord Pleanála take the opportunity to assess the case incorporating this new information."
(CD)
