An Bord Pleanála wants to appeal a “very significant” High Court decision in which a judge accused it of effectively “sabotaging” the State’s compliance with climate commitments.Lawyers for the planning authority are also asking Mr Justice Richard Humphreys to revisit his findings concerning its duty of candour to the court in the legal challenge brought by windfarm developer Coolglass. In his ruling earlier this month, the judge overturned An Bord Pleanála’s decision to refuse to grant planning permission to Coolglass for its Co Laois windfarm proposal. He proposed that the planning application should be reconsidered by the board. The 13-turbine project is proposed in townlands for which the local development plan prohibits windfarms. A development plan sets out a local council’s objectives for particular areas in its vicinity. An Bord Pleanála has the power not to follow aspects of a development plan depending on the circumstances of a case. Mr Justice Humphreys held that the board has since late 2022 adopted a “fixed practice of supine submission” to local development bans on renewable energy and failed to act in a manner compliant, as far as practicable, with national climate objectives.
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