Council rejects animal waste factory

A proposal to build a huge animal waste plant in the heart of the Golden Vale has been turned down by South Tipperary County Council.

The council said the factory, which would have processed 250,000 tonnes of waste a year, equivalent to almost half the slaughterhouse waste produced in Ireland, was too big for a rural location, and would give rise to an "unsustainable" level of traffic to and from the plant.

The proposed facility was to have been built by Green Organics Energy (GOE) Ltd, a consortium which includes Dawn Meats, Bioverda, a subsidiary of National Toll Roads, and National Byproducts, owned by the Ronan family, which operated a rendering plant on the site for more than 40 years.

It is located at Castleblake, near Rosegreen, between Cashel and Clonmel, which is about a mile from John Magnier's Coolmore Stud and Aidan O'Brien's stables at Ballydoyle.

A statement from GOE expressed disappointment at the decision, and said the company would be reviewing it.

It also said the plant would have generated bioenergy in the form of green electricity and biodiesel, and projects like this were "essential" if Ireland is to meaningfully address climate change and its reliance on fossil fuels.

The proposal elicited 1,100 letters of objection, and was opposed by local politicians including Independent TD Michael Lowry and newly-elected Fianna Fáil TD Dr Martin Mansergh.

The council said the developers had failed to consider alternative sites, and the environmental impact statement (EIS) did not contain enough information regarding the impact that the facility would have on the local environment.

The council also said the river Moyle, which runs adjacent to the facility, would not have the capacity to adequately assimilate any effluent discharge.

Local campaign group South Tipperary for Clean Industry said a decision by Bord Pleanála to turn down a similar plant at Ballard, Co Cork, gave them confidence that they would win even if GOE decided to appeal the decision.

"The promoters should now drop this project, which is misguided and simply wrong. This small, rural community should not be put through yet another planning process at An Bord Pleanála level - even though we are confident of success," said spokesman Douglas Butler.

"We hope that GOE will pay attention to the county council's decision, and to the committed and determined opposition from the local community, and realise that their proposal is completely inappropriate for Rosegreen and South Tipperary."

The decision was also welcomed by Anne-Marie O'Brien, the wife of trainer Aidan O'Brien.

She said: "This decision shows that the county council has recognised both the importance of the horse business to south Tipperary economically and the threat to human and animal health and welfare posed by this national rendering and waste plant.

"Clean air and water is essential to everyone in this community, not just Ballydoyle, and we are delighted that the county council has made the right decision in protecting our environment."