Locals overjoyed that wind turbines won’t be erected
THE residents of Clonroche are overjoyed that a proposed wind farm won’t be built in their area following legal wrangling.
A spokesperson for Clonroche Against Wind Turbines said that a decision by Wexford County Council to refuse permission for the windfarm had been appealed to An Bord Pleanala who overturned the decision and granted permission.
‘In April 2017 An Bord Pleanala overturned Wexford County Council’s decision to refuse planning permission for a Windfarm on Ballinclay Hill, Clonroche. This came as a huge disappointment to the local community as we had hired an experienced Planning Consultant to lodge our submission with An Bord Pleanala and which highlighted the many flaws in the developers, Ballinclay Windfarms Ltd, plans.
‘In order to protect their way of life, the community of Clonroche was left with no option but to head down the expensive and stressful route of a Judicial Review.
‘Following months of legal proceedings, last week An Bord Pleanala instructed that it does not intend to contest the Judicial Review case being brought against them and has conceded to an order quashing the Board’s planning permission.
‘In the High Court last Tuesday the Court quashed the planning permission and made a formal Order ending the case. The Bord’s decision not to defend its planning permission when it was challenged is an acknowledgement that they felt they would lose.
‘If the local community had not brought the review, planning permission would now be in full force and the developer, Ballinclay Windfarms Ltd, would be free to build on foot of it.
‘ This is a huge victory for the community of Clonroche and really highlights what the power of the people can achieve. A huge thank you to our legal team and to all the people who supported us financially and encouragingly throughout this long and stressful planning procedure.
‘While we are delighted with the result, we are mindful of other small communities like ourselves who find themselves battling the financial and lobbying power of the wind energy industry. There is an urgent need to have the existing guidelines revised in order to protect communities.’