DUBLIN CITY management is to oppose Dublin Port Company’s plan to infill 21 hectares of Dublin Bay to expand its operations.
The port company has applied to An Bord Pleanála for permission to reclaim the land using the Strategic Infrastructure Act, the “fast-track” planning legislation which allows developers of major infrastructure projects to bypass local authority processes.
However, Dublin City Council will next week submit to An Bord Pleanála that the application is “premature”, without adequate justification, and could cause flooding.
In a report to be put before city councillors on Monday, assistant city manager Michael Stubbs says the proposal contravenes the city development plan and is premature, pending the outcome of studies from the Department of the Environment and the Department of Transport.
It also contravenes the council’s own Dublin Bay study, Mr Stubbs states.
“It is the opinion of the Planning Authority that the long term vision and potential of the Dublin Port area is that outlined in Option 7 of the Dublin Bay study – ie a full relocation of the port,” his report says.
The council has concerns in relation to the water, drainage, natural heritage, visual impact and transport effects of the development. Its drainage division in particular feels the proposal “will have significant impacts on flooding risk”, Mr Stubbs points out.
The city management does not need the imprimatur of councillors to lodge an objection with An Bord Pleanála. However, the submission is likely to find favour with the majority of councillors, who have already endorsed the council’s Dublin Bay study.
Councillors and local TDs including Finian McGrath are among more than 100 objectors who have made submissions to An Bord Pleanála on the application.
Fine Gael councillor and chair of Dublin Bay Watch Gerry Breen welcomed the council’s opposition to the development.
“This proposal in its various forms, going back some 40 years, is unwarranted and has more to do with vested interests achieving land gain and nothing to do with the core port activities,” he said.
In his own submission to An Bord Pleanála, Mr Breen said the port company claimed port capacity was reached in the 1970s. The tonnage shipped through has increased dramatically since then without causing problems, he said.
“The recent CSO figures show that the tonnage for the first six months of 2008 has declined versus 2007. This downward trend is unlikely to be reversed in the next few years.”
Mr Breen also pointed out that Minister for the Environment John Gormley was shortly to ratify an order designating the lands at issue as a Special Protection Area to protect wild birds.
Dublin Port Company said the increase was essential to ensure it can fulfil its statutory duty to handle port trade. Measures would be introduced to address possible negative impacts, it said.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Showing posts with label The Strategic Infrastructure Act. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Strategic Infrastructure Act. Show all posts
Saturday, 1 November 2008
Sunday, 31 August 2008
Port company again seeks infill permission
DUBLIN PORT Company is applying, for the third time, for planning permission to reclaim 21 hectares of Dublin Bay to expand its operations.
The Port Company which unsuccessfully sought permission in September 1999 and in March 2002, will this time apply directly to Bord Pleanála under the Strategic Infrastructure Act.
The application, which the Port Company claimed is in the national interest, comes in advance of the conclusion of three separate studies on the future use of the bay. It also comes in advance of the the final designation of most of the inner bay - including the 21 hectares - as a Special Protected Area (SPA), by Minister for Environment John Gormley.
News of the impending application, which is to be lodged by September 8th next, has provoked a strong reaction from politicians.
Dublin North Central TD Finian McGrath claimed he had a letter from the Taoiseach Mr Cowen, effectively promising that the infill would not go ahead.
Mr McGrath told The Irish Times he had been given a specific promise by former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, in return for support for the Government, that the infill would not take place.
Mr McGrath added that this promise was confirmed in writing by Taoiseach Brian Cowen in recent weeks. "Mr Cowen wrote that anything in my agreement with Mr Ahern would be honoured as far as he was concerned", said Mr McGrath.
Clontarf area member of Dublin City Council Gerry Breen said he believed the application was a "final attempt" to infill the 21 hectares which front onto Clontarf Road. He said that the application would cost the State-owned Port Company €100,000 in Bord Pleanála fees alone, and he added that the timing of the application was "interesting", considering the the three studies on the future of the bay.
The end of this month marks the last date for submissions on Mr Gormley's proposed SPA designation which covers all of the inner bay area with the exception of the shipping channels in and out of the port.
The same week marks the start of public meetings on the future of the bay organised by the Dublin Regional Authority at the behest of Minister Gormley.
In addition, while September 8th marks the date by which the Dublin Port Company plans to lodge its application, it is also the final date for submissions on the Department of Transport report on the strategic future of Dublin Port.
Dublin City Council has said it too is pressing ahead with a strategic framework study following last year's public consultation which found 70 per cent of respondents wanted the port to be moved to another location.
However, a spokesman for the port company said it had completed an extensive planning application, including an environmental impact statement, which will be submitted to An Bord Pleanála.
The spokesman added that as the project had been designated "strategic infrastructure" by Bord Pleanála as far back as last year, the company was required by law to submit the application to Bord Pleanála and not to the planning authority. In relation to the timing of the application, the spokesman said the Dublin Port Company was charged with facilitating trade at the heart of Ireland's largest market.
"Ireland needs to be prepared to deal with the upturn when it comes by having sufficient port capacity . . . Therefore, the 21-hectare gateway expansion of the north port area will provide much needed additional capacity at Dublin port which is of strategic importance to the Irish economy and Ireland's capital city."
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The Port Company which unsuccessfully sought permission in September 1999 and in March 2002, will this time apply directly to Bord Pleanála under the Strategic Infrastructure Act.
The application, which the Port Company claimed is in the national interest, comes in advance of the conclusion of three separate studies on the future use of the bay. It also comes in advance of the the final designation of most of the inner bay - including the 21 hectares - as a Special Protected Area (SPA), by Minister for Environment John Gormley.
News of the impending application, which is to be lodged by September 8th next, has provoked a strong reaction from politicians.
Dublin North Central TD Finian McGrath claimed he had a letter from the Taoiseach Mr Cowen, effectively promising that the infill would not go ahead.
Mr McGrath told The Irish Times he had been given a specific promise by former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, in return for support for the Government, that the infill would not take place.
Mr McGrath added that this promise was confirmed in writing by Taoiseach Brian Cowen in recent weeks. "Mr Cowen wrote that anything in my agreement with Mr Ahern would be honoured as far as he was concerned", said Mr McGrath.
Clontarf area member of Dublin City Council Gerry Breen said he believed the application was a "final attempt" to infill the 21 hectares which front onto Clontarf Road. He said that the application would cost the State-owned Port Company €100,000 in Bord Pleanála fees alone, and he added that the timing of the application was "interesting", considering the the three studies on the future of the bay.
The end of this month marks the last date for submissions on Mr Gormley's proposed SPA designation which covers all of the inner bay area with the exception of the shipping channels in and out of the port.
The same week marks the start of public meetings on the future of the bay organised by the Dublin Regional Authority at the behest of Minister Gormley.
In addition, while September 8th marks the date by which the Dublin Port Company plans to lodge its application, it is also the final date for submissions on the Department of Transport report on the strategic future of Dublin Port.
Dublin City Council has said it too is pressing ahead with a strategic framework study following last year's public consultation which found 70 per cent of respondents wanted the port to be moved to another location.
However, a spokesman for the port company said it had completed an extensive planning application, including an environmental impact statement, which will be submitted to An Bord Pleanála.
The spokesman added that as the project had been designated "strategic infrastructure" by Bord Pleanála as far back as last year, the company was required by law to submit the application to Bord Pleanála and not to the planning authority. In relation to the timing of the application, the spokesman said the Dublin Port Company was charged with facilitating trade at the heart of Ireland's largest market.
"Ireland needs to be prepared to deal with the upturn when it comes by having sufficient port capacity . . . Therefore, the 21-hectare gateway expansion of the north port area will provide much needed additional capacity at Dublin port which is of strategic importance to the Irish economy and Ireland's capital city."
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
Pipeline can bypass local planning
NO COUNTY planning application will be required for a 25km Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) pipeline following a decision by An Bord Pleanála that it is "strategic infrastructure".
The pipeline will link the planned Shannon LNG terminal on the Shannon estuary near Tarbert, Co Kerry, to the Bord Gáis national gas network near Foynes, Co Limerick.
As strategic infrastructure, the planning application does not have to go through the local Kerry and Limerick planning processes, but will be made directly to An Bord Pleanála for decision.
Earlier this year, the appeals board gave the go-ahead to Shannon LNG, a subsidiary of the US-owned Hess corporation, for the LNG terminal. Forty conditions were imposed, including that the gas could not leave the terminal by road. The terminal was also deemed a strategic infrastructure development.
An oral hearing in Tralee was told the €500 million facility, the first in the State, proposes to supply just under half the State's gas needs.
Kilcolgan Residents' Association criticised the proposed pipeline route and called on the council to use its influence to "at a minimum" demand the natural gas be made available locally. Residents said the separate purchase last week of the nearby Tarbert ESB power station by the Spanish energy giant Endesa means the Shannon estuary area of Kerry was to be "an energy hub", and the pipeline proposed was too far from the ESB power station.
"The pipeline route proposed by Shannon LNG in its secret agreement with Bord Pleanála is at least two miles from the power station, with no consideration whatsoever being given on where or how the pipeline could be linked to the ESB station," the residents said.
The Kilcolgan residents told the hearing they had serious concerns about a lack of a co-ordinated safety plan by the various bodies and wanted the terminal, which will include a regasification plant and giant storage tanks, to be located offshore. The residents and an environmental group have initiated legal action seeking a judicial review of the An Bord Pleanála decision to give the terminal the go-ahead. They refer to the lack of an environmental assessment of the project as well as marine safety issues.
Although the councils will not be able to make a decision on the pipeline, they will be invited to make a submission, the residents said. The residents are "now calling on Kerry County Council to demand, as a minimum, a strategic assessment of the oil and gas storage hub now proposed for the Shannon estuary," they said.
"If the dangerous LNG storage facility is to be forced on north Kerry, the least that the council can do in return for the millions that it will receive each year in rates is to ensure that north Kerry has access to the gas for the development of the region. It is no use looking for it once permission is given for the route preferred by the developer."
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The pipeline will link the planned Shannon LNG terminal on the Shannon estuary near Tarbert, Co Kerry, to the Bord Gáis national gas network near Foynes, Co Limerick.
As strategic infrastructure, the planning application does not have to go through the local Kerry and Limerick planning processes, but will be made directly to An Bord Pleanála for decision.
Earlier this year, the appeals board gave the go-ahead to Shannon LNG, a subsidiary of the US-owned Hess corporation, for the LNG terminal. Forty conditions were imposed, including that the gas could not leave the terminal by road. The terminal was also deemed a strategic infrastructure development.
An oral hearing in Tralee was told the €500 million facility, the first in the State, proposes to supply just under half the State's gas needs.
Kilcolgan Residents' Association criticised the proposed pipeline route and called on the council to use its influence to "at a minimum" demand the natural gas be made available locally. Residents said the separate purchase last week of the nearby Tarbert ESB power station by the Spanish energy giant Endesa means the Shannon estuary area of Kerry was to be "an energy hub", and the pipeline proposed was too far from the ESB power station.
"The pipeline route proposed by Shannon LNG in its secret agreement with Bord Pleanála is at least two miles from the power station, with no consideration whatsoever being given on where or how the pipeline could be linked to the ESB station," the residents said.
The Kilcolgan residents told the hearing they had serious concerns about a lack of a co-ordinated safety plan by the various bodies and wanted the terminal, which will include a regasification plant and giant storage tanks, to be located offshore. The residents and an environmental group have initiated legal action seeking a judicial review of the An Bord Pleanála decision to give the terminal the go-ahead. They refer to the lack of an environmental assessment of the project as well as marine safety issues.
Although the councils will not be able to make a decision on the pipeline, they will be invited to make a submission, the residents said. The residents are "now calling on Kerry County Council to demand, as a minimum, a strategic assessment of the oil and gas storage hub now proposed for the Shannon estuary," they said.
"If the dangerous LNG storage facility is to be forced on north Kerry, the least that the council can do in return for the millions that it will receive each year in rates is to ensure that north Kerry has access to the gas for the development of the region. It is no use looking for it once permission is given for the route preferred by the developer."
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 21 January 2008
First oral hearing under new fast-track planning system opens
The first public hearing to be conducted under a new fast-track planning process for major infrastructural developments will begin today.
A €500 million gas terminal at the Shannon estuary in Co Kerry is the first project to be advanced to An Bord Pleanála oral hearing stage under the new Strategic Infrastructure Act.
The Act was introduced in 2006 to stop delays in the planning system.
It allows developers to bypass county council planners and go directly to An Bord Pleanála for permission.
The hearing, on the country's first liquified natural gas terminal, will be held in the Brandon Hotel in Tralee from today.
The board has scheduled a week of sittings.
However, with 64 submissions made in relation to the application, it could take longer.
The hearing will have the same format as all other Board Pleanála public hearings.
The applicants, Shannon LNG, will present their case for the development before third parities are given an opportunity to ask questions and outline their concerns.
The terminal project will require the significant upgrading of roads, fire service and water services in north Kerry. It will involve huge gas storage tanks, a new marine jetty and unloading equipment as well as warehousing and stores and water pump houses.
At full capacity up to 125 tankers a year would arrive with gas and this will require an exclusion zone around the jetty when the ships arrive.
Up to 750 jobs will be created during the height of the construction phase.
A second strategic infrastructure hearing, in relation to an application by the Quinn Group for a natural gas turbine station at Toomes, Co Louth, will be held on Monday week at the Nuremore Hotel in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan.
The company says the plant will be able to supply power to 230,000 homes.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
A €500 million gas terminal at the Shannon estuary in Co Kerry is the first project to be advanced to An Bord Pleanála oral hearing stage under the new Strategic Infrastructure Act.
The Act was introduced in 2006 to stop delays in the planning system.
It allows developers to bypass county council planners and go directly to An Bord Pleanála for permission.
The hearing, on the country's first liquified natural gas terminal, will be held in the Brandon Hotel in Tralee from today.
The board has scheduled a week of sittings.
However, with 64 submissions made in relation to the application, it could take longer.
The hearing will have the same format as all other Board Pleanála public hearings.
The applicants, Shannon LNG, will present their case for the development before third parities are given an opportunity to ask questions and outline their concerns.
The terminal project will require the significant upgrading of roads, fire service and water services in north Kerry. It will involve huge gas storage tanks, a new marine jetty and unloading equipment as well as warehousing and stores and water pump houses.
At full capacity up to 125 tankers a year would arrive with gas and this will require an exclusion zone around the jetty when the ships arrive.
Up to 750 jobs will be created during the height of the construction phase.
A second strategic infrastructure hearing, in relation to an application by the Quinn Group for a natural gas turbine station at Toomes, Co Louth, will be held on Monday week at the Nuremore Hotel in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan.
The company says the plant will be able to supply power to 230,000 homes.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 29 August 2007
New power station placed on planning fast track
IRELAND's richest businessman, Sean Quinn has been given permission to 'fast track' a planning application to construct one of the biggest power stations ever built here.
An Bord Pleanala has ruled that a 450-megawatt gas-fired station planned in Co Louth is strategic infrastructure and should not have to go through the usual planning process.
If approved it could provide enough power for almost 300,000 homes. Industry sources described the proposed power station as "huge".
The Strategic Infrastructure Bill, which came into force earlier this year, allows planning applications of national or regional importance to be lodged directly with An Bord Pleanala instead of the local authority.
The planning applications can be fast-tracked and dealt with in six months, so instead of Sean Quinn having to apply for planning permission from Louth Co Council, the board will instead decide if the massive project should be approved.
The plant at Toomes in Co Louth is one of two planned by the Fermanagh businessman, who also proposes a second station near Tynagh in Co Galway.
Yesterday it emerged that the proposed gas-fired station for Toomes will be one of the biggest power stations ever built in Ireland.
Irish Independent
An Bord Pleanala has ruled that a 450-megawatt gas-fired station planned in Co Louth is strategic infrastructure and should not have to go through the usual planning process.
If approved it could provide enough power for almost 300,000 homes. Industry sources described the proposed power station as "huge".
The Strategic Infrastructure Bill, which came into force earlier this year, allows planning applications of national or regional importance to be lodged directly with An Bord Pleanala instead of the local authority.
The planning applications can be fast-tracked and dealt with in six months, so instead of Sean Quinn having to apply for planning permission from Louth Co Council, the board will instead decide if the massive project should be approved.
The plant at Toomes in Co Louth is one of two planned by the Fermanagh businessman, who also proposes a second station near Tynagh in Co Galway.
Yesterday it emerged that the proposed gas-fired station for Toomes will be one of the biggest power stations ever built in Ireland.
Irish Independent
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