An Bord Pleanála not to contest court action on Banagher Chilling
An Bord Pleanála has confirmed that it will not contest a High Court challenge to its planning approval for the Banagher Chilling meat processing plant in Banagher, Co. Offaly.
The planning board initially approved Offaly County Council's granting of permission for the development of the €40 million plant in June 2022.
Following that decision, a legal challenge was lodged with the High Court seeking leave for a judicial review of An Bord Pleanála's approval on the basis of water quality rules.
Now, the planning authority has said that it will not contest the High Court action.
In a statement to Agriland, An Bord Pleanála said that it could not indicate what its next steps would be in relation to the stalled development, as this is a matter for the High Court to decide under the judicial review.
Commenting on this latest development, independent Laois-Offaly TD Carol Nolan claimed that the case is "bordering on the weaponisation of the law to halt urgently-needed competition in this sector".
"We have already been around the houses with delay after delay. I cannot overemphasise the negative signal this will send out to any potential investor in Co. Offaly," she added.
"This is a totally retrograde step and one that should never have been allowed by An Bord Pleanála.
"As a result, investment potential in [Co. Offaly]...has been undermined," Nolan said.
Initially, in June 2022, An Bord Pleanála found that the Banagher Chilling development would not be contrary to the provisions of the Climate Action Plan, pending the approval, at the time, of the sectoral emissions reduction plans.
The original planning approval by Offaly County Council had been appealed to the planning board by self-described "lifelong environmentalists" Desmond Kampff and co-appellant Gwen Wordingham.
Kampff and Wordingham subsequently took a legal challenge in the High Court seeking leave for a judicial review of An Bord Pleanála’s decision. Banagher Chilling Limited was listed as a notice party in the court documents.
The applicants said that they were concerned at the potential environmental impacts from the proposed meat processing facility, and claimed that the approval by An Bord Pleanála breached the EU Water Framework Directive.
