Courts / Wicklow / Report

Court rules quarry company must cease works at Dublin mountains site

Date
2017-05-09
Stage
Appeal
Primary locality
Shillelagh
County
Wicklow

Summary

The Court of Appeal ruled that Shillelagh Quarries Ltd must stop all quarrying works on a 3.27‑hectare area of its 25‑hectare site near Brittas, Co. Dublin, on the north‑facing slope of Butter Mountain, a 465‑metre peak. The site lies within an area of exceptional public amenity and close to two Special Areas of Conservation. The court upheld a High Court order that required the company to cease works by the following Friday and confirmed a two‑month stay on the cessation, allowing the firm to seek to regularise its planning status and give employees notice to find alternative work. The appeal concerned only the length of the stay, not the substantive finding that the quarrying was unauthorised. The court found the company had continued commercial activity despite a 2010 refusal of planning permission, creating a discordant landscape in a protected area. The ruling was made by Justices Mary Finlay Geoghegan, Michael Peart and Gerard Hogan.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Court rules quarry company must cease works at Dublin mountains site. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

Places mentioned

Court Venue
  • Court of Appeal
  • High Court
  • Catriona McCoy. The High Court
  • The High Court
Residence
Secondary Mention

Topics

Stage Appeal

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