A company that owns a caravan park at Seabank, near Arklow, Co Wicklow, has claimed before the High Court that the Seabank beach and sand dunes will be damaged if the proposed development of a sewage treatment plant at Seabank proceeds.
Michael Cush SC, for Arklow Holidays Limited, with offices at Dame Street, Dublin, made the claim when applying to bring a challenge to An Bord Pleanála's decision last January to grant planning permission for waste-water treatment works, plus associated sewers, a road and an outfall pipe at Seabank.
Mr Cush said detailed studies carried out by experts engaged by the company had concluded that it was technically impossible to construct a tunnel for the outflow pipe without damaging the Seabank sand dunes and beach.
He said the dunes were on his client's lands and any erosion of them, apart from the destruction of their scientific value, could be catastrophic in terms of accelerating coastal erosion in the area.
Counsel said the company had been advised that the planning permission included no requirement that a tunnel be constructed in a manner that would prevent damage to the dunes and beach.
In its proceedings against the planning board and the State, the company wants an order quashing the permission for the waste-water works. It is also seeking declarations that An Bord Pleanála erred in law in failing to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment of the proposed development, as required by the relevant European Council directive, and that the proposed development requires a licence under the Waste Management Act, 1996.
The company claims the planning board determined a project application which related only to part of the project, and that this was an error in law.
The proceedings arise from the granting of permission to Arklow Urban District Council for the waste-water treatment development on January 21st this year.
The company alleges the planning board failed to follow fair procedures during an oral hearing on the proposed development, and erred in law in failing to consider alternative sites.
It further claims the board erred in law in failing to have regard to the need to dispose of waste material, in the nature of screenings and grit, material which allegedly constitutes hazardous waste. The decision to grant planning permission failed to include a requirement that the development be carried out in a manner that would prevent contamination of the company's water wells.
In its case against the State, the company alleges failure to properly transpose into Irish law the requirements of a European Council directive on waste management. It claims the exclusion of sewage effluent from the scope of the Waste Management Act, 1996, directly conflicts with the relevant EC directive and that there are no controls or no effective controls on such waste.
The defendants deny the claims. They say the company has outlined no substantial grounds to justify the granting of leave to bring a judicial review challenge. On the claim that the sand dunes would be damaged if the development goes ahead, they plead that the board imposed conditions on the planning permission to ensure the proposed outfall pipe does not damage the dunes.
The hearing continues today before Mr Justice Frank Clarke.