An Bord Pleanála has rejected an appeal made by an environmentalist against a milking parlour development in Co. Meath.
In February 2023, Meath County Council granted planning permission, subject to eight conditions to a farmer in Co. Meath, for the development to convert a beef farm in Kells to a dairy enterprise.
The development includes a milking parlour building and cubicle shed totalling 625m2, a crush/drafting area, collecting yard, meal bins, slatted underground effluent tanks and a new agricultural entrance.
Appeal
The local authority decision to grant planning permission was appealed to An Bord Pleanála by Cork-based environmentalist Peter Sweetman and Wild Ireland Defence CLG.
The appeal called on the board, as part of its responsibilities under the Habitats Directive, to carry out an appropriate assessment of the development on the River Boyne and River Blackwater Special Area of Conservation (SAC).
It was claimed that there is a direct hydrological connection between the site and the SAC as the Toberultan stream within the farm ultimately discharges into the SAC downstream.
The appeal alleged that there was a “total lack of certainty in the information submitted” by the applicant to remove “all reasonable scientific doubt to the effects of the works proposed” on a protected site.
The appeal also said that the council had failed in its duty to carry out an assessment under the Water Framework Directive.
In response, the applicant rejected the claim that the application was not clear and said that the planning authority had fully compiled with its obligations under the Habitats Directive.
“The planning authority have carried out an AA screening and have confirmed that they were satisfied that, having regard to the nature and scale of the proposed development, it would not have any significant effect on the European sites,” they said.
The applicant also engaged the services of a qualified ecologist to carry out a screening of the proposed development.
The appeal site is not located within or adjacent to a designated site protected by the Habitats Directive and the lands are not in or near any Natura 2000 site, they added.
The applicant was satisfied that the proposed milking parlor is a sufficient distance from the Toberultan stream that it will not impact on water quality.
The applicant said that the appeal failed to acknowledge that this is an existing operational farm already stocked with cattle and the proposed development “does not involve the expansion or intensification of the land use”.
It was noted that the increased slurry storage capacity of 380m3 would have “a positive environmental impact” as it reduces the risk of pollution in the event that slurry cannot be spread in wet weather.
The existing farm is currently stocked above 170kg organic nitrogen (N) per hectare and has been granted a nitrates derogation by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
The applicant also questioned why a small scale development in Meath would be of any concern to a third party based in Cork.
An Bord Pleanála
An Bord Pleanála upheld the decision of Meath County Council and granted permission for the proposed development, subject to nine conditions.
The conditions include the applicant submitting a nutrient management plan to the planning authority prior to the commencement of development.
The board noted that there was established agricultural activities on the site and that the development would not seriously injure the residential amenities of the area.
It added that the development would not have an unacceptable impact on the landscape, ecology or any designated European sites and would not be prejudicial to public health.