The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal taken by An Taisce against planning permission granted for the contentious €140 million Glanbia cheese plant in Belview, Co. Kilkenny, a spokesperson for Glanbia has told Agriland.

This paves the way for the development of the facility, which is a joint venture between Glanbia and Royal A-Ware, located in The Netherlands.

Today’s Supreme Court decision upholds An Bord Pleanála’s approval of planning permission for the facility in July, 2020.

It is expected that the cheese plant will have a production capacity of 450 million litres of milk per annum. Milk used in the production process on site will be sourced from local suppliers and the cheese will be marketed and sold to global customers.

Approximately 80 full-time jobs will be created there with a further 100 temporary jobs created during the construction phase, Glanbia has said.

An Taisce and the Glanbia cheese plant

An Taisce’s appeal cited concerns over how the planning and approval process for the plant was undertaken.

This long-running affair began when An Taisce raised objections to the proposed plant with An Bord Pleanála, which the planning authority rejected.

The environmental group was granted leave to appeal to the Supreme Court in September last, after the High Court’s decision to dismiss its challenge against An Bord Pleanála’s granting of planning permission.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision to take the case, Glanbia said it remained “totally committed” to the Belview cheese facility, despite the ongoing legal battle.

Glanbia will release a statement shortly.

Stay tuned to Agriland for more on this story…