August 10, 2007
Ireland
Ireland
Judgement was reserved in the High Court last week in the judicial review brought by the Derrybrien Development Society against Galway County Council’s decision on the planning application of Gort Windfarms Ltd in 2003.
The Court – before Mr Justice Declan Budd – was told that two years prior to this planning application, Gort Windfarms had acquired the land and windfarm project of Saorgus and Hibernian Wind Power Ltd at Derrybrien.
On 1st October 2003, Gort Windfarms Ltd applied the Galway County Council for an extension of time of the first two planning applications relevant to this site, where work was in progress.
Two weeks later disaster struck at Derrybrien on the evening of 16th October 2003, during the excavation of the base for Turbine No. 68, approximately 450,000 cubic metres of bog began to slide downhill in a south-easterly direction at Derrybrien.
The landslide of bog and uprooted trees followed the course of a stream of 2.5km. It surrounded an old farmhouse and demolished stone outbuildings.
Following heavy rainfall on 29-30 October 2003, the bog became liquidised. It entered the river Abhainn Dá Loilioch and proceeded for 22km till reaching Lough Cutra lake.
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9 August 2007
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2007/08/10/derrybrien-windfarm-in-court/