Green light for major project in Offaly as initial refusal of permission overturned on appeal

An energy company has won its appeal against a decision by Offaly County Council to refuse it planning permission for 12.5km of electricity transmission line from the Cloghan Wind Farm substation to the existing electricity substation in South Offaly.

The plans were initially submitted to Offaly County Council in 2018 but were refused planning permission in 2019. The company, Galetech Energy Developments, appealed the decision to An Bord Pleanala.

The lines would be split between underground and overground cables, with the majority, 8.5km of the lines going underground between the townlands of Stonestown and Clondallow.

The lines were due to cross the N62, R439 and L70152 public roads. Underground infrastructure would be located within private lands and within these roads. They would be installed in excavated trenches of approximately 1.2m in depth and include underground ducting, joint bays, communication chamber bays, sheath link boxes and inspection chambers.

The works would also involve drilling at the railway crossing along the N62. The 3.7km of overground cables would consist of three powerlines suspended from wooden poles with a maximum height of 16 metres.

The application was submitted along with an environmental impact assessment report (EIAR), and environmental impact statement (EIS).

The council's refusal of the plans centred on the safety of the road network nearby and its junctions.

In its refusal letter, the council stated: "It is council policy STAP-17 of the Offaly County Development Plan 2014-2020 to protect the safety, capacity and efficiency of national roads and associated junctions."

"It is considered that the applicant has not sufficiently demonstrated that the proposal will not have an adverse impact on the safety, capacity or operational efficiency of the national roads network in the vicinity of the subject site, given the risks of differential settlement along the N62."

"It is therefore considered that the proposal would materially contravene Policy STAP-17 as it would adversely impact on the capacity and efficiency of National roads, and therefore would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area."

An Bord Pleanala in its decision to overturn the refusal and grant permission stated that it considered, that subject to compliance with the conditions set out, the proposed development would be in accordance with national policy and local policy on renewable energy, would have an acceptable impact on the environment and on amenities of the areas, would be 'acceptable in terms of traffic safety and convenience' and would therefore, be in accordance with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.

In deciding not to accept the Inspector's recommendation to refuse permission because of the potential for adverse impacts on the N62 arising from differential settlement, the Board considered that potential impacts could be addressed through the agreement of the detailed construction and reinstatement methodology following a programme of pre-construction site investigations between the development and the planning authority which could be satisfactorily addressed by condition.

In reaching this conclusion, the Board noted that the Inspector was satisfied that there were no unacceptable environment impacts on material assets but that the recommendation for refusal related to traffic safety, carrying capacity and the operational efficiency of the material asset (road). Furthermore, the Board did not consider that the proposed development would materially contravene Policy STAP-17 of the Offaly County Development Plan 2014-2020 by causing adverse impacts on the capacity and efficiency of National Roads.

You can read the full decision from An Bord Pleanala by clicking here