'I feel it's greed that's driving this policy' – Windfarm opposed by Mayo councillors

At the monthly Mayo County Council meeting, members discussed the planned Tirawley Windfarm development, which would comprise 16 wind turbines, a permanent 110kv substation, battery energy storage facility, operations compound, meteorological mast and underground cables.

Brendan Munnelly, Senior Executive Planner with Mayo County Council, outlined the council's position on the proposal: "Mayo County Council would not be in favour of such a proposal at this location, a view that still pertains."

He detailed concerns about the project's location relative to the county's renewable energy strategy, noting that only three of the 16 turbines would be situated within the preferred tier-one areas for large wind farms, with eight in tier-two areas open for consideration, and the remainder in open countryside.

"We did hold pre-planning consultations with the applicants back in 2023 and during the course of those discussions, it was made known to the potential applicants that we wouldn't be in favour of the proposal at this location, mainly in terms of its impact on the scenery and the scenic locations of the area," Mr Munnelly said. He expressed particular concern about proximity to the Wild Atlantic Way route and potential impacts on the Wild Atlantic Way, Downpatrick Head and Céide Fields.

'No money can pay this community'

Cllr Jarlath Munnelly warned the windfarm would "significantly undermine good work done on the Wild Atlantic Way" and could "undermine plans to designate Céide Fields as a UNESCO world heritage site." He criticised the developers, stating "the promoters have not engaged with the local community" and called for updated legislation before approving applications, saying "they need to get those guidelines ratified."

Cllr Marie-Thérèse Duffy stated bluntly: "This location is not suitable for such industrial scale infrastructure."

Cllr Michael Loftus questioned the need for additional capacity in the area: "I feel its greed that's driving this. I estimated that there's about 350 wind turbines within 20km of this development. There's wind farms going up all over the place.

"To me, no money can pay this community if this planning permission goes ahead. This is something that we seriously need to say no to."

Cllr Gerry Coyle also expressed his objection to the proposal and told the chamber that "we're overran with wind turbines in North Mayo."

The final decision on the Tirawley Windfarm application will rest with An Coimisiún Pleanála, with Mayo County Council's report forming part of the planning authority's considerations.

A decision on whether or not to grant planning is expected towards the end of September next year from An Coimisiún Pleanála.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme