Decisions due on Castleyonssolarfarms
DECISIONS are due from An Bord Pleanála over the coming days in relation to appeals against the granting of planning permission for two solar farms in the Castlelyons area.
Earlier this year Cork County Council granted permission to Amarenco Solar for the two facilities at Ballinvarrig East, Deerpark, Castlelyons and Corrin/Kill Saint-Anne-North, Castlelyons.
The decision to grant permission for the Ballinvarrig East facility came almost a year after an application for a similar facility on the same site was refused.
Each of the applications made provision for five mega watt solar farms, each comprised of some 22,200 photovoltaic panels on sites measuring more than eight hectares with associated buildings including inverter/transformer stations, a delivery station and ancillary works.
However, the decision by County Council planners to give the two facilities the green light was referred to the appeals board following the lodging of objections in both instances in the name of Castlelyons Development.
In their lengthy submission against the Ballinvarrig East facility, they cited a number of reasons why they maintain construction of the solar farm should not be allowed to go ahead, raising concerns about the suitability of the site in question.
These include, but are not limited to, the potential for a “serious pollution/ contamination risk to the Castlelyons water supply”, flooding, noise levels, the potential fire risk from the solar panels, access to the site, and the destruction of archaeological artefacts under the surface of the proposed site.
The submission further pointed out that the was no national or regional strategy for solar farms and that, given the proliferation of similar facilities in the area, the “wave of solar farms” should be put on hold until such a strategy is published.
“We wish to make the point that our communities are not against solar farms and the general principle of renewable energy. It has a critical to play in providing energy to communities. The serious concern we have with this application is that the proposed site is not suitable for a solar farm,” read part of the submission.
It concluded by saying it was critical that the planning authority identify the most suitable sites for commercial solar installations in relation to their size and the impact on the lives of nearby residents.
“Residents who have worked hard all their lives to pay mortgages on their homes will undoubtedly see their houses devalued. But what will be far worse is if these installations impact negatively on their daily lives,” it read.
“When that is the case, permission should be refused.”
Similar concerns had been raised in relation to the other facility at Corrin/ Kill-Saint-Anne.
According to the An Bord Pleanála website a decision is due on the Corrin/ Kill-Saint-Anne facility by the end of this week, with a decision due on the Ballinvarrig East solar farm next Thursday. WHAT a young Aherla man initially though was a prank turned out to be a slice of luck that saw him strike it lucky on the RTÉ Winning Streak game show.
In fact Cormac O’Driscoll, a 19-year-old GAA mad UCC student, enjoyed a very successful appearance on last Saturday nights show – taking home a whopping €33,000 in cold, hard cash and the keys to a brand new Toyota Corolla worth a cool €25,000.
Cormac, an arts student at University College Cork, only started his studies this term and the money will no doubt come in handy during the remainder of his time in college.
It was the first time that Cormac, a keen footballer and hurler with the Canovee and Cloughduv GAA Clubs, had ever bought a Winning Streak scratch card – so he now has a 100 per cent record with them. He admitted that he did not initially believe his mother Geraldine when she rang him to say his name had been pulled out on the show the previous week. “I dismissed it as a prank until my phone was lighting up with about 10 calls congratulating me.”