An Bord Pleanála has refused planning permission for a wind farm at Gaybrook Demesne near Mullingar, Co Westmeath,
writes
EOGHAN MacCONNELL.
A number of local residents had raised concerns about the proposed development which consisted of nine 125-metre and 135-metre turbines. The application was lodged by Galetech Energy Developments Ltd.
Tom Wallace, of the Midlands Industrial Wind Turbine Action Group, expressed relief at the decision.
“These turbines would have been one and a half times the height of the Statue of Liberty and taller than the Spire in Dublin,” Mr Wallace claimed.
Suggesting alternative locations, he said: “There’s about 20,000 acres of bogs about two miles away as the crow flies.”
Galetech director Darren Sherry described the planning refusal as unfortunate. Mr Sherry doesn’t believe there is a growing resistance to wind farms. “There hasn’t been a dramatic change in terms of planning,” he said.