Courts / Cork / Report
Challenge to Cobh scrap metal facility dismissed
Summary
The High Court has dismissed a challenge by Cork Harbour Alliance for Responsible Development (CHARD) against An Bord Pleanála's decision to grant planning permission for a scrap metal processing facility at Cork Dockyard in Cobh. Mr Justice Seamus Noonan ruled that the planning authority's decision was neither unreasonable nor irrational. The applicants, local residents, had alleged that the development would generate excessive traffic endangering public safety and that An Bord Pleanála failed to conduct a proper Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in accordance with the Planning and Development Act 2000 and EU law. They sought orders quashing the March 2013 permission, which had been granted despite Cobh Town Council's initial refusal and An Bord Pleanála's own inspector recommending against it. An Bord Pleanála, the respondent, maintained that it had carried out the requisite EIA and determined the project would not pose unacceptable adverse effects or traffic congestion. The court found that the board had explicitly engaged with the traffic concerns and provided clear reasons for its decision. While the judge noted that one condition requiring the developer to provide car parking spaces was unenforceable, he determined this condition was severable from the permission. Consequently, the dismissal of the challenge does not prohibit the development from proceeding.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Challenge to Cobh scrap metal facility dismissed. Procedural stage: trial
When:
- March 2013 Other
- 2015-10-06 Publication
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