Plan to extract 800,000 tonnes at Slieve Bloom quarry has been appealed

A PLANNING permission to extend a sand pit and extract 800,000 tonnes of sand and gravel in the Slieve Bloom Mountains has been appealed to An Coimisiún Pleanála by locals living very close to the site.
Anne and Michael Carroll have appealed Laois County Council’s decision to grant a ten year approval for the quarry to operate in the townlands of Mounthall and Cummer near Camross in the Slieve Blooms. The proposal will see the quarry's size extend from 1.2 hectares to about eight hectares. The existing 1.2 hectares has been out of use for many years. The site owner is Breedon Materials Ltd, a major company whose headquarters is in the UK.
The planning permission was granted in August despite being opposed by a number of local groups including the Slieve Bloom Association, Camross Tidy Towns, Paddock National School, Mountrath Scout Group and Ballyfin CDA. In all, the planning application with Laois County Council attracted 67 submissions. The drone photo below shows the existing sandpit in the surrounding pastoral landscape.

In their submission to Laois County Council, Anne and Michael Carroll said their home is one of six residential properties located within 250 metres of the proposed development. They said the proposed development was of “massive concern” to them. They expressed concerns about their water supply, which comes from a private well, and about the dust and noise which the development would produce. They worried too about the damage which the daily traffic of many Heavy Goods Vehicles HGVs) would cause to the narrow mountain roads (see below).

The Carrolls pointed out that there are no footpaths and no cycle lanes along the roads and they would be unsafe for either pedestrians or cyclists. “It is very obvious these roads are not able for the level and size of vehicles that are already travelling on them so how are they expected to deal with a further minimum amount of 24 HGVs per day?”
Kathy Phelan Bracken of the Save Glendine campaign also lives within 250 metres of the proposed development. “Breedon will transform this sandpit into a huge commercial quarry,” she said. “The proposed area is located in the foothills of the Slieve Blooms in the beautiful Glendine valley. The Slieve Blooms are a beauty spot and this proposal is totally unsuitable. The site also borders a nature reserve, home to the Hen Harrier conservation project, home to migratory birds. What the proposal means is the destruction of biodiversity, roads and residents' welfare; potential waterways pollution; a disregard of Health & Safety on narrow roads; the destruction of narrow, single lane heritage bridges. We are also concerned that the Council has agreed to replace a single lane bridge that was damaged years ago by boy racers. This bridge is beyond the quarry, further into Glendine, and we are worried that it could mean HGVs going over Glendine Gap (a mountain pass) on a completely unsuitable road with the aim of travelling across three counties to the company's Kinnegad depot where over 50% of the material will be exported abroad.”
It is not certain when An Coimisiún Pleanála will reach its decision on the appeal.

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