Solar Farm granted for North Kerry amid local anger

AN Bord Pleanála has granted planning permission for a Solar Farm at Trieneragh, Duagh. This is the second such farm to be given permission in the North Kerry area. A decision is also pending on a third solar farm for the region, which is currently being examined by An Bord Pleanála. All three solar farm applications are by Terra Solar Ltd.

The decision to grant permission to the solar farm at Trieneragh comes after Kerry County Council granted permission to the farm subject to a number of conditions. They had refused the first application because of traffic concerns, but a new application granted planning to the 36,950-square-metre farm with a number of conditions.

Kerry County Council’s decision was appealed to An Bord Pleanála by local man, Robert O’Mahony, whose home is directly across from the development.

He voiced a number of concerns in documentation to An Bord Pleanála including traffic concerns which had also been highlighted by the local authority. However, An Bord Pleanála held that this is not a concern due to the ‘low-level operational traffic’.

Mr O’Mahony also raised health and safety concerns in relation to his children, both of whom are hearing aid users, as well as ecological concerns. The depreciation of residential property was also raised, as well as the visual impact of the development. His concerns were similar to observations made by locals to Kerry County Council during the planning process.

Last week An Bord Pleanála granted permission with a number of conditions. Developers have 10 years in which to develop the solar farm, which has a lifespan of 25 years.

Locals are disappointed with the decision, and local man, Batt O’Keeffe, told Radio Kerry this week that they would ‘physically’ object to the development during the construction phase. He said that local residents do not have the funds to further object to the decision.

An Bord Pleanála has also previously overturned a decision by Kerry County Council and the Board inspector to refuse a seperate Solar Farm application at Ballygrenane, Listowel. This is only 2.7km from the Trieneragh Solar Farm. A third application for a farm in the townlands of Tullamore, Drombeg and Coolkeragh in Listowel is also pending. A local action group, Tullamore Action Group, has been set up to fight against the proposals. Kerry County Council refused the development, and an appeal is now with An Bord Pleanála.