April 15, 2021
Ireland

Coillte appealing against decision by Carlow County Council to refuse planning permission for wind farm on Mount Leinster

Edwina Grace | KCLR | 15/04/2021 | kclr96fm.com

Coillte are appealing against the decision to refuse planning permission for a wind farm on Mount Leinster.

Carlow County Council last month decided against allowing the proposed Croaghaun development go ahead.

The local authority claimed the plans would have an adverse visual impact on the scenic area and would interfere with the character of the landscape.

They also raised concerns over the effect on the nearby conservation area and the local road network and decided it was contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.

Coillte has now lodged an appeal against the ruling.

It’s as a study by KPMG for Wind Energy Ireland‘s revealed that four local authorities depend on wind farms for over 10% of their rates income; 22% of rates in Leitrim, 15.5% in Co Tipperary, 14% in Roscommon and 13.6% in Cavan.

It says close to two thousand more jobs will be added in the sector in the next decade, around a third of them operational jobs.

Russell Smyth, who’s a partner at KMPG, says the amount of tax paid is set to more than double over the coming decade, noting “Windfarms contributed circa 45 million so this is a very important source of revenue, that is going to grow to over a 100 million a year contribution to local authority rates and these local authority rates are then providing the funding for all the services that the local authorities provide, this is another demonstration of how this sector has grown to provide contribution to both communities and to services”.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2021/04/15/coillte-appealing-against-decision-by-carlow-county-council-to-refuse-planning-permission-for-wind-farm-on-mount-leinster/