Wind farm war not over as appeal heads for Supreme Court
€175m project put on hold as ex-hurler Shefflin and group of residents challenge plans for 21 turbines
PLANS for a €175million wind farm opposed by Kilkenny hurling great Henry Shefflin have been put on hold after a residents’ group took their challenge to the Supreme Court.
An Bord Pleanála gave the go-ahead to the 21-turbine wind farm on a 1,434-hectare site mainly owned by Coillte in September 2022.
It is located to the east of the ten-time All-Ireland winner’s native Ballyhale in Co. Kilkenny.
The Castlebanny wind farm is expected to generate enough clean, green electricity to power the equivalent of 70,000 homes annually – more than the 68,735 housing stock in Co. Mayo.
The project is a joint venture between FuturEnergy Ireland – made up of Coillte and the ESB – and ART Generation.
Mr Shefflin’s objection was one of around 70 submissions lodged with An Bord Pleanála concerning the strategic infrastructure development.
In his original objection, Mr Shefflin, 45, told the board that ‘the residential amenity of my home would be irrevocably compromised by the construction and operation of this wind farm’. The three-time Hurler of the Year and 11-time All Star said: ‘It is proposed that these turbines are up to 185 metres in height.
‘Surely, it is completely unjust and unreasonable for such gigantic moving structures to be placed in such close proximity to people’s homes.’
Mr Shefflin added that ‘due to the enormous height and number of turbines involved, together with the proposal to build on a ridge, the visual impact of the development would be extensive and would have an extremely negative effect on the surrounding landscape, stretching into neighbouring counties’.
He said ‘the national trail, the South Leinster Way, in particular, would be greatly compromised’.
‘I am not opposed to wind energy but I am opposed to wind farms being constructed in unsuitable areas with no concern to the health or wellbeing of local residents,’ he wrote.
‘The worldwide trend is towards offshore developments where people are not adversely affected in such a devastating way.’ Other submissions included objections from Colin Fennelly, four-time All-Ireland winner with the Kilkenny hurlers, and the Save The South Leinster Way group.
Last October, a senior High Court judge, Richard Humphreys dismissed judicial review challenge brought by the Save The South Leinster Way group after finding they were a day late lodging their challenge.
The judge stated: ‘The message to applicants is: try to avoid depleting the energy of the court with this sort of application and instead put in place some kind of margin for error, rather than living for the thrill of a do-or-die scramble to get the last seat on the last helicopter off the embassy roof in Saigon.
‘Knocking out an applicant who is a day out seems harsh. But that’s inherent in having any boundary rules on anything. We have not yet reached the utterly chaotic and subjective situation where there can be no fixed rules, only the chancellor’s foot.
‘Any dividing line seems arbitrary for the person who is just on the wrong side of it. Time limits become meaningless and unworkable unless they are applied consistently – otherwise we end up with the paradox of the heap. If an extra day is OK, what about two days? And so on ad infinitum. That’s not to say there can’t ever be legitimate excuses, but here we have a statutory test for extension, and the applicants don’t meet either limb of it.’
There is a window of eight weeks to seek a High Court judicial review of a decision by An Bord Pleanála. The planning body granted permission for the wind farm on Monday, September 26, 2022, and Save The South Leinster Way made its judicial review application on Monday, November 21, 2022.
Judge Humphreys determined the last day of the eight-week period was Sunday, November 20. The residents group appealed his ruling to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court has granted leave to the residents group to appeal the High Court ruling.
The Supreme Court is requesting written submissions as to whether a time limit for lodging of judicial review challenges can be extended to the next working day if the deadline falls on a Sunday or a Bank Holiday Monday.
A spokeswoman for the joint wind farm venture said: ‘Legal proceedings associated with the project and its planning grant from An Bord Pleanála have been in process since late 2022, and as such we are unable to comment on any specific queries at this point in time.’