The High Court has quashed the refusal of planning permission for an underground fireworks storage facility at Rathoma, Killala, County Mayo, after finding that An Coimisiún Pleanála misinterpreted the county development plan.
Rocket Pyrotechnics (Ireland) Limited proposed installing a 40-foot metal shipping container underground, surrounded by 3.2-metre earth mounding, for the secure storage of pyrotechnics classified as hazardous goods. The proposal also included fencing and a small packing and unpacking area.
Mayo County Council refused permission in August 2024. The company appealed, but An Coimisiún Pleanála also refused permission in July 2025. Its decision relied on Objective EDO 54 of the Mayo County Development Plan, which supports rural enterprises and certain other developments dependent on rural locations.
Mr Justice Humphreys held that the planning authorities had approached that objective incorrectly.
The court found that EDO 54 is a supportive policy rather than a prohibition. A development falling outside that particular objective is not automatically contrary to the development plan because other objectives may support it.
The judgment also rejected an overly narrow interpretation of “rural enterprise” and of development being “dependent” on a rural location. Rural enterprise can include businesses suitable for a rural area, while dependency does not require proof that a project could exist nowhere else. A project significantly better suited to a rural than urban location may qualify.
Rocket Pyrotechnics had argued that explosives-storage rules require substantial separation distances from roads and buildings, making rural locations practically advantageous. The High Court did not itself decide whether this specific proposal ultimately satisfies the development plan. That assessment remains for the commission.
The July 2025 refusal was quashed and the appeal remitted to An Coimisiún Pleanála for reconsideration from a stage before the inspector's report. Rocket Pyrotechnics was also awarded its costs.