Permission granted for quarry reopening

Local residents are considering their next move after Louth County Council granted planning permission for the reopening of a quarry at Ballymakellet.

The council has granted planning permission to Arabtec Capital Limited to reopen the quarry which hasn’t been used in over forty years.

The permission comes with 21 conditions including measures aimed at controlling noise, dust and waste management, as well as archaeological and geological monitoring of the site.

The applicants intend reopening the quarry for the production of road making and aggregate material, and the application included plans to build a temporary office, toilets, weighbridge and wheel wash.

The permission is valid for a period of five years from the grant of permission and a further two years for restoration works to be completed.

One of the conditions is that work should commence in the period from September 1st to the last day of February of the following year to avoid disturbance and destruction of breeding habitats.

The proximity of the site to Trumpet Hill was one of the factors highlighted by the residents in their objections who expressed concerns that the reopening of the quarry could put the ecology of the area at risk.

They had pointed out that Ballymakellet was one of 33 sites of geological interest in the county with the potential to be classified as a National Heritage Area.

There were also worried about the prospect of lorries coming and going to the traffic along narrow twisty country roads.

Parents in particularly were worried about the impact of increased traffic on children walking and cycling to school.

A previous decision by Louth County Council to grant planning permission for the reopening of the quarry was successfully appealed by residents to An Bord Pleanala, which issued a decision in March 2016 that reopening it would contravene the Council’s own County Development Plan 2015-2021.

There have been a number of attempts to reopen the quarry since 1982 and in all cases residents were successful in opposing them.

A public meeting is taking place in Ravensdale Community Centre this Tuesday evening at 8.30pm for residents to consider their next step.