Turlough refusal

Waste recycling plant is rejected - again

Michael Duffy

A controversial plan to build a waste processing facility near the village of Turlough, four miles from Castlebar, has been shot down by An Bord Pleanála for a second time, bringing to an end a five-year campaign by many locals against the building of the facility.
Over 800 people signed a petition aiming to stop the closure of a public road which was due to be part of one of the conditions of the planning permission given by Mayo County Council to the development earlier this year.
McGrath Industrial Waste Limited have been seeking permission to develop lands at Gortnafulla for the last five years, hoping to build a waste recycling/transfer building. The company were granted permission twice by Mayo County Council, but on both occasions An Bord Pleanála overturned the decision.
The Council’s recent planning permission was appealed to An Bord Pleanála by both Turlough Community Development Association and local resident Martin McHugh, who told The Mayo News this week that the community at large were relieved that ‘common sense had prevailed’.
“At the end of the day, what has happened is that a good planning decision has been made by An Bord Pleanála. They refused the development back in 2004 but, as far as I am concerned, McGraths just re-lodged the application and the Council closed a public road to facilitate their application. It was a ludicrous situation but at least the planning board, like the people of Turlough, knew this was not the location for a waste treatment plant,” said Mr McHugh, who added that this was not a case of ‘not on my doorstep’ objections.
“We simply had a steadfast view that there were far better sites available for a waste recycling facility than in a small village that relies heavily on tourism.”
The plans were originally given the green light by Mayo County Council in 2002, but turned down on appeal by groups including An Taisce and the Turlough Residents Committee. Proposals were again submitted in November 2004, and a licence was approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. This grant of permission was appealed by McGrath Industrial Waste itself, the Turlough Community Development Association and a number of other local people, who cited concerns that the Manulla River would be polluted by the plant, and that the facility would have a negative visual impact on a village which is home to a number of cultural sites including the National Museum of Ireland and a round tower.
There was also strong opposition to proposals to permanently close one access road into the village. The association described the road as ‘a vital part of the local infrastructure’, used by the school bus and the Church of Ireland community to reach their church. It also told the board that the plant would increase the risk of traffic accidents at the junction with the N5, and would create a nuisance to nearby residents.
Assessing the appeal, Dermot Kelly, a senior inspector with An Bord Pleanála, recommended refusal of the development for three reasons. The inspector found the development would cause a traffic hazard and obstruction on ‘a narrow substandard minor local road’. He also found that heavy slow-moving traffic joining the N5 ‘would interfere with the safety and free flow of traffic on this main road’. The second reason for refusing the development was that it might set a precedent for other industrial/commercial development that would create a traffic hazard on the N5.
The inspector also found that the plant would be ‘visually incongruous in this attractive rural landscape and would result in significant adverse impacts on the area’, which is home to ‘important cultural tourism facilities at Turlough House’.
The refusal of the facility created problems for Mayo County Council in relation to fulfilling commitments in relation to the Connacht Waste Management Plan.
The plan states that ‘it is an underlying objective of this Plan to provide sufficient waste management infrastructure’ and that ‘the  local authorities in the region recognise the value of private investment in realising this aim’.
Currently there are nine recycling centres in the region but the CWMP insisted that there be 17 recycling centres in the region by 2009. When contacted by The Mayo News, a spokesperson for Mayo County Council said it was council policy to not comment on individual planning applications.