Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has lodged an appeal against the grant of planning permission by Monaghan County Council, for the expansion of a poultry processing facility in Emyvale.
Silverhill Foods Unlimited was granted planning permission for the development at Corlattallan, however that decision is now being appealed to the higher planning authority.
The development would involve the construction of a part single storey / part two-storey factory development incorporating chilling, plucking and processing areas, lairage, loading and unloading areas.
The plans also include offices, a canteen and conveyor linkage to the existing factory facility.
Offal processing and underground drainage
As part of the proposal by the company, which has been in business for over 50 years, there would be an extension to the side of an existing storage shed to incorporate an offal processing facility.
Silverhill also wants to construct an underground attenuation drainage system and complete all associated ancillary site works, including a treated effluent wastewater drip irrigation system encompassing eight plots of land spread over 15ha.
The development relates to a development which comprises an activity that holds an industrial emissions licence from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
At the time of the application, Silverhill Foods was licenced to have 100,000 birds on site.
Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) sludge and duck slurry are managed separately on site, with the WWTP sludge collected and spread on local farms under a waste management plan which is reviewed annually by the EPA.
Monaghan County Council decision
The county council granted permission for the poultry processor’s development with 10 planning conditions attached.
One condition stated that no pet food processing can take place on site until that activity is licenced by the EPA.
Another condition required that “all organic fertiliser generated by the development… shall be conveyed through properly constructed channels to the proposed storage facilities and shall not discharge or be allowed to discharge to any stream, river, watercourse, groundwater body or public road”.
Appeal against poultry site expansion
IFI has appealed the grant of permission on a number of grounds.
The body says its concerns relate to wastewater treatment and disposal. In the appeal it states that there is insufficient information in the plans to indicate that the expansion would not have a negative impact on fisheries habitats.
It had also raised concerns with the county council initially as part of the original planning process.
The appeal now lies with An Bord Pleanála which is expected to make a decision by mid-December.