Roadstone proposals for Blessington site rejected

An Bord Pleanála has ruled against plans by Roadstone for a controversial extension to its quarrying operation at Glen Ding, near Blessington, Co Wicklow.

Dublin City Council and the Department of the Environment had expressed concern about the scheme's impact on the Blessington reservoir, which supplies drinking water to about half the population of Dublin.

The refusal was welcomed by Minister for the Environment Dick Roche who said it was "the right decision". He added that "it demonstrated people could have confidence in Bord Pleanála".

In refusing permission, the board said it found an environmental impact statement (EIS)supplied by Roadstone deficient in a number of respects.

These included the impact on the reservoir and the flora and fauna, as well as visual elements. The board also said it was not satisfied with information supplied by the company on the remediation of an illegal dump on its land close to the reservoir.

An Bord Pleanála said the quarry would seriously injure the amenities of Blessington on heritage and environmental grounds. These included adverse impacts on Blessington village and the woodlands of Deerpark and Glen Ding.

The board also found that the application failed to demonstrate that the proposal "taken in conjunction with the existing visual degradation of the adjoining lands, would not further erode the character of this sensitive landscape, would not seriously interfere with the setting of Rath Turtle Moat [a national monument] and would not constitute a visually obtrusive development in close proximity to the expanding village of Blessington".

The board said the environmental impact statement was deficient in its assessment of water quality in the vicinity of the quarry and noted that Roadstone had failed adequately to "address the unauthorised landfilling that has occurred at the quarry of which the site would form a part".

While Dublin City Council and the Department of the Environment made submissions to Wicklow County Council on the decision, neither body appealed the decision. The appeal was taken by An Taisce.

A spokesman for An Taisce said the "comprehensive nature of the refusal . . . was a major indictment of the credibility and competence of Wicklow County Council as a planning authority".

He added that it "marks an important turning point. For years, Roadstone has been allowed to develop and acquire additional lands for quarrying around Blessington and Glen Ding, leaving a massive legacy of illegal dumping, threats to drinking water quality and an open-cast-mining-type landscape."

Separately yesterday, Mr Roche launched an environmental code of practice for the Irish Concrete Federation, which extracts 120 million tonnes from quarries each year.