The High Court has refused a judicial review challenge to planning permission for a six-turbine wind farm at Derragh and nearby townlands in County Cork, finding that the planning board properly addressed the issues raised by an earlier court ruling.
The applicants sought to quash An Bord Pleanála’s June 2016 permission for the development by Framore Limited. The permission covered the turbines, a substation and associated works. The court stressed that its role was judicial review, not an appeal on the merits of the planning decision.
The case followed an earlier High Court judgment in 2014, which quashed a previous permission after finding that the wind farm and its connection to the national electricity grid formed part of one overall project. The board was directed to reconsider the application and assess the cumulative effects of the wind farm and grid connection before granting permission.
After seeking further information, the board received a revised environmental impact statement and Natura impact statement from Framore. The applicants argued that the grid connection was not part of the planning application, that changes to the proposal went beyond what the board could accept, and that the board had not properly completed an appropriate assessment.
The court rejected those grounds. It accepted that the board could seek the further information under section 132 of the Planning and Development Act and found that the applicants had notice of the changes and had made submissions about them. The judge also found no basis to conclude that the appropriate assessment contained a gap. The applicants had not challenged the substance of the environmental impact assessment or shown prejudice from the changes they described as significant.
A condition attached to the permission stated that it was not consent for the grid connection, which would require a separate planning application unless exempt from planning permission. The judge said the permission did not authorise a cable link between the Derragh and Cleanrath wind farm sites.
The court also held that arguments that the grid connection should have been included in the planning application from the outset were out of time and should have been raised in the earlier proceedings. It concluded that the board had done what the earlier remittal required and refused the relief sought.