Planning permission for large scale chicken farm is quashed

The High Court has quashed planning permission for a large-scale poultry farm in Co Mayo. Mr Justice Anthony Barr made the order following An Bord Pleanála's consent to quash the permission it had granted in September 2019 for a new poultry house and ancillary facilities at Brownhall Demense, Balla, Castlebar. The decision was challenged through judicial review by Michael O'Connor, a neighbouring resident at Brownhall, Balla, Castlebar. The board agreed to pay Mr O'Connor's legal costs. The original permission was granted to Noel and Ann Mulhern for their wholesale egg production business. The proposed facility was designed to house 12,000 laying hens. Mayo County Council and the board's own inspector had both recommended refusal. Mr O'Connor's challenge raised concerns including noise and odour nuisance, groundwater pollution, disease risk, and potential impacts on the River Moy Special Area of Conservation and the Ballinfad Special Area of Conservation, which supports the protected Lesser Horseshoe Bat species.