2024
New reference number 318705-23 (formerly 309937-21)
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION To An Bord Pleanála is 5.30PM, Thursday 15th February 2024
appeals@pleanala.ie for those people who have made an observation to ABP for this case.
If you are making a new observation (i.e. you have not made a previous submission on this matter to ABP), there will be a €50 fee to ABP. (check their website for details).
If you have relevant comments to make and want us to include them in our SML submission, thank you for sending your comments to SML (we can still receive your comments up to lunchtime Thurs 15th).
Send further information to An Bord Pleanála outlining the following:
A) that you reiterate the comments made in your original submission and support the appellants in their own effort to stop this industrial development
B) ask that An Bord Pleanála stick to its original decision and refuse planning as the area is zoned not normally permissible for wind energy and is contrary to Carlow County Development Plan .
C) the project is not strategic infrastructure and is not of national importance with no grid infrastructure.
D) minimum renewable energy targets were set at 130 Mw (chapter 7 of Carlow County Development Plan 2022-2028). The Council has granted in excess of 2.5 times this target. Co Carlow has met and exceeded its renewable energy target.
Anything else people feel strongly about or personal problem with this project and own experience, local knowledge etc.
If you wish to sign a physical petition with more useful text about the current status, here is a petition that you can print off and sign and give to a person on the SML team or take a photo and email to us.
____________________________________________________________
2021 proposed text
Your name
your address1
your address2
your address 3
date, May, 2021
The Secretary,
An Bord Pleanála,
64 Marlborough Street,
Dublin 1.
Case Reference: PL01.309937: Croaghaun Windfarm
Dear Sir/Madam,
I wish to make an Observation on Case Reference PL01.309937 – Croaghaun Windfarm, Co. Carlow. I have enclosed the fee of €50.00.
My home is located 2km from the site boundary where I have lived all my life. I have serious concerns about the impacts of this windfarm on the local area and on my home and family.} if you live within 1-5km of the windfarm site then make this clear. I would like to make the following Observations;
At 178m, these turbines will totally dominate the local landscape. This is a rural, scenic area which is known for its wilderness and sense of peace and quiet. The landscape will be severely damaged by industrial structures which will be among the biggest in Ireland and more suited to an offshore location. The site is located directly beside the Mount Leinster Heritage Drive and opposite the Nine Stones Viewing Point on Mount Leinster but given the sheer size of these turbines there will be an impact on all the major scenic views in the locality. Our local communities are heavily dependent on the tourism industry, thousands of visitors, domestic and foreign visit here every year and they are attracted by the natural landscape, not an industrial one. They come here to drive, walk and cycle in order to enjoy the natural environment not to be overshadowed by a built environment.} it is important to support the decision of Carlow CoCo to refuse planning permission
Apart from the impact on designated scenic routes and viewing points, those of us living locally will suffer Very Significant Visual Impacts. We will no longer live in a peaceful rural area but rather an industrial landscape.
Our local road, the L2026 is also the Mount Leinster Heritage Drive. Coillte are proposing to use this road exclusively for all traffic to the site over an 18 month period. This road cannot support the volume of traffic which has been totally underestimated and does not include the haulage for timber after the 60+ acres have been felled, agricultural machinery during harvesting and silage making and the tourism traffic which uses this road as the main route to the Nine Stones. We are trying to encourage tourists to visit this area but this will stop them completely.} it is important to support the decision of Carlow CoCo to refuse planning permission
Numerous cyclists and walkers both tourists and locals use this road on a daily basis. This is the main road into the nearest town of Bunclody and hundreds of people living on the route have to use this road for commuting, school runs and shopping. This will now be overtaken by large numbers of HGV’s on a road that is not designed to support this volume or scale of traffic. Coillte are proposing to use numerous pull in points in driveways and lanes on private land where they have not been given permission. It will no longer be possible to walk the roads and our children will not be able to cycle the roads as they usually do because of the dangers this traffic will pose.} speak about your own personal experience and impact on your life
I am lucky enough to have live in this area all my life and have a great appreciation of my natural surroundings. The Blackstairs SAC is only a couple of hundred metres from the site and we have an abundant and varied number of species of birds and mammals in the locality, many of them protected species. This wildlife does not recognise the man-made boundaries of the SAC and also uses Croaghaun for hunting and nesting. On a daily basis I witness Buzzards, Falcons and Kestrels hunting and have sighted Hen Harrier and Grouse in the neighbourhood. All of these rare species will be at risk from these turbines. .} support the decision of Carlow CoCo to refuse planning permission and speak about your own personal experience
From speaking with my neighbours in Cranemore, I am aware of the issues they have experienced since the Greenoge windfarm was developed including flooding, shadow flicker, noise and slope slippage. We have experienced some of these problems here as well and I am fearful of the impact further development will have particularly given the sheer size of these turbines. In particular, I am worried about the impact on my water supply which is a private well and the noise from turbines with 38m blades. During heavy rains in recent years we have experienced a big increase in run-off from Croaghaun and this can only be made worse with felling and the introduction of tonnes of concrete on the mountaintop.} speak about your own personal experience
Finally, I would say that while we received home visits and leaflets from Coillte, we do not feel we were properly consulted. We did not have any real understanding of the scale of the turbines until quite late in the day and many of our neighbours one or two kilometres down the same road had no knowledge of the plans until after the application was lodged. There were no town hall meetings as promised. We were not asked for our opinion or made aware of the possible impacts on our home and our lives but simply informed of Coillte’s plans. Consultation should be a two way street where local people are listened to and their views are considered.
We have two teenage children who we hoped would remain in the area and build their homes on family land in the future. There is no hope of that happening if these turbines are built, no one would want to live in the shadow of 178m noisemakers with all the problems they create. .} speak about your own personal experience and the issues that will affect you personally.
I ask the Board to take my points into consideration and uphold the decision of Carlow County Council to refuse planning permission in order to protect both the local environment and the people who live in it.
Yours sincerely,
______________________
Your Name/s
Whatever points you decide to raise in your Observation, try to relate them back to your own personal experiences and knowledge which cannot be found in articles or via Goggle and will make your Observation stand out You are the expert on your life and experiences and while Coillte can call experts to refute technical challenges, they have no experts who can speak to your personal testimony.
Save Mount Leinster 