Oral hearing on plans for controversial €10m Tuam biogas plant

By SIOBHÃÂN HOLLIMAN INSPECTORS from An Bord Pleanála will travel to Tuam next week to hold an oral hearing on the controversial plans to build a biogas plant on the town's outskirts. Last year, local man Bernie Hynes was granted planning permission for the development on the site of the old sugar factory by Galway Co Council. However many of the individuals and groups that lodged objections to the proposal subsequently appealed the decision. The oral hearing will commence at 10 am on Tuesday, January 22 at the Ard Rí House Hotel and may continue until Thursday, January 24, depending on progress.[private] Those invited to attend are applicant Bernie Hynes and appellants: Bernadine McElroy, Mary Keating, Thomas Maher, Airglooney Residents Association, Connacht Wool Tuam Ltd, St Colman's Anglers Association, Pat and Maurice Burke, Tuam Biogas Concern Group, Mary McDonagh, Gerry and Deirdre Donnellan and CPS. The planning appeals board has also invited a representative of the Commission for Energy Regulation to attend. The planning application, lodged in late December 2011, for an anaerobic digestion facility, which would turn organic waste, beet, silage and other feedstocks into useable energy, is proving to be one of the most contentious planning proposals for the area for some time, with close to 90 objections and submissions lodged at County Hall last year. Eleven appeals were subsequently lodged with An Bord Pleanála calling for permission to be refused for the plant. Permission is for a reception building, weigh bridges, a composting building and four digester tanks. It will have a 40,000 tonne per annum capacity and will require a waste licence if it goes ahead. There will also be four storage tanks, a water tank and four combined heat and power engines. However the construction of a biogas facility on the outskirts of the town could put hundreds of the town's existing jobs at risk, according to some of the objectors against the proposal. Representatives from Tuam Biogas Concern Group met with members from Tuam Town Council last year to air their concerns about the proposal earmarked for a large site in the Airglooney Business Park on the Ballygaddy Road. The group says that they are not against the construction of an anaerobic digestion facility in Tuam that would be run on beet and silage alone. However, they believe the plant proposed for Airglooney is a co-digester rather an anaerobic digester and could have a detrimental impact on the nearby Clare River. Bernie Hynes has previously insisted that there is no question of human sewage being used in the facility. The further information submitted before planning permission was granted said that the plant will form a key part of the county's and region's waste management infrastructure and will give smaller-scale producers of organic waste an alternative to landfill. Mr Hynes said he and his consultants have done everything they can to convince locals that the plant would be a welcome addition to Tuam. He believes that the renewable electricity that will be generated by the plant will help Tuam become more self-sufficient and attract further specialist industries. Next week's oral hearing won't repeat much of the information initially submitted by both sides and it will focus mainly on the matters raised subsequent to the initial documentation, to the appeal statements made and responses submitted to the board. Galway Co Council will also have an opportunity to comment and respond in relation to the submissions received. Mr Hynes and his planning team will comment and respond to the submissions and particularly refer to the need for the development, the suitability of the site, the nature of the process and feedstock proposed, impact on traffic, odours, impact on groundwater and appropriate assessment. Those appealing the application will also make submissions and closing statements and there is also a facility in the hearing for questions from those involved. After the hearing a report will be sent to the planning appeals board and a decision on the application is due in mid-February.[/private]