Permission denied for valley landfill
PERMISSION has been refused for landfill at the Rocks Valley in Priestnewtown.
An Bord Pleanala refused permission to Wicklow County Council last Wednesday morning following 750 submissions from the public.
The council owns the wider patch of land on the site near Kilcoole and had applied to An Bord Pleanála last August to develop a site where 200,000 tonnes of surplus soil and silt, clay and gravel dredged from the River Dargle in Bray would have been be deposited. This dredging forms part of the River Dargle flood defence works authorised by ABP in 2008.
The plan also proposed to develop an eco-park to include walking tracks, nature trails and signage.
However, local residents want to preserve the area and have campaigned extensively to that end.
Cllr Tom Fortune said that the letter he received from An Bord Pleanala last week was very welcome news.
The reasons for the decision included the nature and extend of the proposed development, the existing nature of the ecology on the site, and the provisions of the County Development Plan.
They also cited the planning history associated with the site and the adjacent lands, and significant levels of recent urban development in the area.
They said that the council had not adequately demonstrated that there are no other alternatives for disposal of dredge spoil from the Dargle flood defence scheme.
‘It is considered that the proposed development would give rise to significant levels of disturbance to the site’s vegetation and ecology and introduce concerns in relation to the potential introduction of invasive species,’ read the letter from An Bord Pleanala.
‘ These are all the reasons we put forward to the board against this crazy application,’ said Cllr Fortune. ‘You would have to ask the question: what is Wicklow County Council at? How much has this cost? They are just wasting money that could and should be spent on more important things.’
Wicklow County Council refused permission for earthfill to a private developer at the same site in March 1999.
Last year, as their most recent application was lodged, a spokesman for residents of the area said that the ‘Save the Rocks Valley Group’ wanted to keep the area as a natural habitat.
‘It’s been there since the last ice age and is one of the last remaining natural habitats,’ he said. ‘It’s untouched. Nobody ever built houses there or put a plough to the land.’
Last year, members of Wicklow County Council adopted an amendment to the county development plan to preserve the Rocks Valley.