Councillor demands clarity after go-ahead given to wind farm near Birr

A COUNCILLOR this week called for clarity from the government regarding Wind Farm guidelines following the recent granting of permission to a proposed wind farm in the Carrig village area near Birr.
“In our County Development Plan,” commented Cllr Joe Hannigan during the July monthly meeting of Nenagh Municipal District, “we have zoned areas which are suitable for Wind Farm development and areas which are not suitable. We zoned Carrig as being not suitable for wind energy developments and yet An Coimisiún Pleanála, formerly known as An Bord Pleanála, has decided to contravene our County Development Plan.”
The councillor pointed out that this momentous decision had thrown everything up in the air. “Does this mean that our Wind Farm guidelines are no longer fit for purpose and we need new guidelines from the government? Is there any point in having a County Development Plan at all when a higher power can just come along and ignore its stipulations? Does this mean we can now build turbines in all the areas which were formerly deemed inappropriate?”
A member of the Council's Planning Department told Cllr Hannigan that “There are different rules set out under law as to what An Bord Pleanála/An Coimisiún Pleanála can consider and overrule, and they can consider opting for material contraventions of the County Development Plan. By contrast, the County Council cannot consider opting for material contraventions of the County Development Plan.”
He added that when An Bord Pleanála enacts a material contravention this doesn't mean that the County Development Plan has been sidelined, undermined or delegitimised. There is a leaning now towards Climate Action and towards achieving lower carbon targets, he remarked. “Regarding your points about the wastewater treatment plants which are not fit for purpose, we share your frustrations. We have raised this matter with Uisce Eireann and a number of plants in Tipperary have been on a priority list for a considerable period of time. We in the Council offices are acting as lobbyists but we don't have direct power. The direct power lies with Uisce Eireann. The County Development Plan is as it is and we must adhere to it. An Coimisiún Pleanála have powers beyond ours.”
Cllr Hannigan commented that everyone needs new Wind Farm guidelines from the government “because at the moment, as things stand, we are all operating in a fog. It's us Councillors who get it in the neck from the general public. We need new guidelines.”
Cllr John Carroll agreed. “The government needs to get off the pot and issue us new guidelines,” he remarked.
A member of the Planning Department told the Councillors that adequate guidelines are already in place. “The Office of the Planning Regulator has published leaflets, which are written in layman's terms and which outline what are An Coimisiún Pleanála's powers and why it can make certain decisions.”