Quarry to be filled as appeal rejected
PERMISSION to fill in a former Roadstone quarry at Calary has been upheld by An Bord Pleanála. Wicklow County Council had granted the permission in March of last year.
The company has said in its application that it intends to establish a grassland habitat, similar to that which existed prior to quarrying.
The application involves filling the lake with over 3.2 million tonnes of waste material over 20 years.
Diving expert Albert Kerr from Bray appealed the permission to An Bord Pleanála, having led a campaign to have the quarry lake used for water-based activities.
Mr Kerr said that the site presented potential to create an amenity that would be commercially impossible to create on a greenfield site.
PERMISSION to fill in a former Roadstone quarry at Calary has been upheld by An Bord Pleanala.
Wicklow County Council granted the permission in March of last year.
The company has said in its application that it intends to establish a grassland habitat, similar to that which existed prior to quarrying. The application involves filling the lake with over 3.2 million tonnes of waste material over up to 20 years.
Diving expert Albert Kerr appealed the permission to An Bord Pleanala, having led a campaign to have the quarry lake used for water-based activities. He made the appeal as a representative of a group of environmentally concerned local people and activity and sporting groups who consider that permission negates a unique opportunity to create a public recreational facility.
Mr Kerr said that the site presented potential to create an amenity that would be commercially impossible to create on a greenfield site and as a man-made residual from quarrying activity which could bring pleasure and adventure to the region at viable cost.
He said that the location is within a landscape designated as a mountain and lakeshore area of outstanding natural beauty with several listed views and prospects within a 5km radius and proximity to SPAs NHAs and SACs, and therefore the site is not suitable for the development of a waste recovery facility.
Other concerns included the negative impact of noise, dust and traffic, and negative impact on flora and fauna. Mr Kerr said that a centre of gravity analysis should be carried out, and that alternative locations are available. He said that favourable consideration should be given to a community driven public/private amenity.
SLR Consulting Ltd, responding to the appeal on behalf of Roadstone, said that the extant water body is a flooded quarry void and not a lake. They said that the long term visual effects of the development would be positive. In a do-nothing scenario, the existing quarry faces would remain bare and visible in the wider landscape while the backfilling will restore the land to its original state.
‘ The site is not for sale,’ they said. ‘ The appellant provides no details on how and by whom the site would be acquired, funded, developed, operated and maintained.’
They said that the proposed inert waste would be largely soil, stones and broken rock, and therefore stable and non-polluting.
Roadstone has committed to making a financial contribution to road improvements. Traffic levels arising will not exceed levels previously generated by the approved quarry development.
They said that there are no guidelines or policies regarding requirements for centre of gravity analysis. In the context of the proximity principle, based on experience at inert soil waste recovery site at Fassaroe, there is a significant demand for inert waste recovery in the Greater Dublin Area and along the N11 corridor. Following the closure of Fassaroe to inert waste, Calary Quarry is the next quarry of sufficient scale along the N11 corridor that could facilitate waste recovery from south Dublin and north east Wicklow.
They said that a habitat and species survey indicated that no buzzards, frogs or newts were observed or previously recorded and the site provide low quality terrestrial habitat for amphibians.
The disused water-filled Roadstone quarry covers about 12 acres and is around 28 metres deep. Mr Kerr said in an earlier submission that it has the potential to be an all-year public recreational facility. He said that the lake could be used for swimming, abseiling, scuba diving, sailing and more. In his vision for the site, he said that a facility could include showers, changing rooms and restaurants.