Brewery wins long-running planning row in Killarney

A KERRY Brewery has successfully appealed a Kerry County Council (KCC) decision refusing permission to retain three large storage tanks at its site on Flesk Road, Killarney.

In April this year, Killarney Brewing Company applied for permission to retain three external fermentation tanks at the site. It also sought to erect cladding and other site works to the rear of the brewery.

Thomas F O’Connor of Ardross, Ross Road, Killarney, objected to the application, stating that Kerry County Council had already refused a 2017 application by the company to retain the tanks and containment area. “The nature of the development sought to be retained in the present application is the same”, he said.

Mr O’Connor noted that the tanks were not included in the company’s successful 2016 application for an integrated tourism micro-brewery and said “It appears the scale of brewing necessitating three large fermentation tanks is greatly increased, and such a facility cannot now be called a micro-brewery”.

He also expressed concerns about emissions from “such increased brewing” and “about the management of waste from the facility”, amongst other concerns.

KCC refused the company’s application and said retaining the tanks would “seriously injure the residential amenities and depreciate the value of property to the north and west”. KCC agreed with Mr O’Connor that the tanks would “result in a significant intensification of use on the site” and would be contrary to planning permission granted in 2016 for a micro-brewery.

An Bord Pleanála, however, decided in recent days to grant permission.

In outlining its reasons for this, the board said “the proposed development to be retained and completed would not seriously injure the amenities of the area or of property in the vicinity”.

The board also said the proposal would not be harmful to public health and would be “in accordance with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area”.

The inspector’s report said the brewery’s production capacity with the tanks included would still be well within the threshold of a micro-brewery.

Planning was granted subject to four conditions. These included that the tanks be contained in a waterproof bunded area, and that the proposed block wall and cladding encasing the tanks be completed within the next three months.