A packed public meeting in Kilcullen last night gave a solid thumbs down to Kildare County Council planners over the controversial planning permission recently granted for a vehicle dismantling facility at Knockbounce Business Park to the owners of Dolly Skip Hire, writes Brian Byrne.
And they promised a technically cast-iron appeal to An Bord Pleanala against the permission. The appeal is already being prepared, and will be vetted by a number of planning professionals before it has to be submitted by the end of the month.
The objectors from residents and businesses were firmly backed by local councillors from the main parties, who said they would vote against any attempt by KCC to dispose of the Council-owned site to the developers who were given the permission.
The meeting in Kilcullen Town Hall was attended by representatives from a number of areas of Kilcullen, but particularly those living in Cnoc na Greine and Avondale estates.
The discussion expressed shock and astonishment that any planning authority would give permission for an industry that not only was against the zoning for the business park, but would so seriously impact the amenity of local people.
Pictured above are Gordon Jones, Janet Noone, and Ray de Courcy, who conducted the proceedings.
The meeting was chaired by Cnoc na Greine Woods resident Ray de Courcy, along with Janet Noone who is leading the preparation of the appeal, and Gordon Jones.
Ray de Courcy outlined the background to the 'most unwelcome development' for the area, noting that certain requested reports had not been submitted to the planners prior to the permission being granted.
He said the enterprise, which would include a car compactor, would 'exceed sound limits', and that there was no indication as to what kind of odours would emanate from the facility.
There would be a 'huge increase' in the number of HGVs coming into the area, which 'can only have a dramatic negative impact' on the area.
"It seems that there were more restrictions placed on the provision of the Community Playground," he said, asking was Kilcullen in the future only going to be known for its dumps?
Among the deficiencies of the granting of permission detailed was the lack of public consultation, required for such a proposition, and the the fact that the objectors were not given right of reply to the further information provided by the promoters a short time before the permission was granted.
Other issues raised were the propriety of Kildare County Council giving planning permission on which depended the Council's ability to sell the site to the promoter.
Related to this was the matter of sale or lease of the property being a reserved function of the elected members of the Council. Local councillors present included Martin Miley of FF, Mark Wall of Labour, and Ivan Keatley of FG. All were asked directly how they would vote when this matter came before them.
All said they would not only vote against the disposal of the site, but that they would actively lobby their fellow councillors to take the same side. It requires a simple majority of the members to decide either way.
Martin Heydon TD also attended, and Cllr Mark Dalton of Athy Town Council was there representing Sean O Fearghaill TD. A representative of Sinn Fein also said his party 'fully supported the people of Kilcullen'.
Enterprises which have already invested in the Knockbounce Business Park were also emphatic in their opposition to the Dolly project, saying it would seriously impact on their business.
Some 270 people are employed by the existing businesses, all of which bought their sites from the Council and spent large sums in setting up.
Niall Murphy of Murphy Surveys Ltd, who employ 130 people from their Kilcullen HQ, noted that clients are constantly coming to their offices. "Having a scrapyard on the site would do us no good at all," he told the meeting.
And building contractor John Cradock, who employs 60 people, agreed completely, adding that the Dolly business 'wouldn't help the image of the company'.
Both of those companies, and two other businesses in the campus, are submitting their own appeals to An Bord Pleanala.
"If this goes ahead, it would destroy the possibility of getting other good employment industries in the Business Park," Cllr Martin Miley told the Diary after the meeting. Cllr Ivan Keatley said he was amazed that the planners had put at risk so many high quality jobs when only seven new jobs would be provided by the Dolly development.
Janet Noone, who has expertise in planning matters and whose house also backs onto the Dolly site, told the meeting that she had been 'shocked' that the permission had been granted because 'there are so many holes' in the application.
But she warned that it wouldn't be easy to get the permission overturned, going on the track record of the Appeals Board.
"This will be decided purely on the legislation, not on the opinions of the objectors," she said, noting that the ABP procedure was quite different to that used by local authority planners. She added that the appeal would also be the first opportunity to comment on the FI submissions from the project promoters.
John Cradock also warned that the campaign 'was on the back foot' in terms of the appeal to ABP. But he said the opportunity to answer the further information submission could be a 'strong' element.
Environmental issues were also raised. The meeting was told that the proposed facility would result in the 'drying up' of one of the two springs which feed Pinkeen Stream. The stream is one of a number of local waterways which is being investigated as part of the Biodiversity Survey now underway, commissioned by Kilcullen Community Action and funded by the Kildare Leader Partnership.
