November 24, 2011
Ireland

Windfarm gets planning approval despite objections from residents

By DÓNAL NOLAN, The Kerryman, www.kerryman.ie 23 November 2011

An Bord Pleanála, granted permission this week for the development of a windfarm near Ballylongford, despite concerns raised by locals who feared the turbines would be noisey and would take from the natural beauty of the rural area.

Scottish and Southern Energy Renewables (SSER) were this week granted planning by the planning appeals board for the construction of nine wind turbines, with a tip height of 125 metres, at Lenamore, Ballylongford.

Kerry County Council had refused permission for the windfarm on the grounds the development would ‘seriously injure’ the visual amenity, rural character and natural beauty of the area. The authority also found the windfarm would create noise that would be detrimental to the health of nearby residents as well as to the value of local property.

The Lenamore Protection Committee, set up to oppose the planned windfarm, told The Kerryman they believed it would be completely unsuitable for the area.

SSER, however, held that the noise levels would not be detrimental to the health of nearby residents and said that all of the three households in the vicinty of 500 metres of the turbines had consented to the application.

An Bord Pleanála this week granted the company permission subject to a number of conditions. Their inspector, Hugh Mannion, who visited the site on two occasions in September, found that the windfarm “would not seriously injure protected species or habitats or seriously injure the amenity of property in the vicinity”.

He did not agree with Kerry County Council that the development would seriously injure the landscape and found it unlikely the windfarm’s ‘visual intrusion’ would seriously detract from the residential amenity of houses in the area. Mr Mannion also found that any obstruction to traffic due to the construction of the windfarm would be of a temporary nature only.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/11/24/windfarm-gets-planning-approval-despite-objections-from-residents/