The High Court has dismissed a judicial review challenge to An Bord Pleanála’s retention permission for a wind turbine near Parteen, Co Clare. The court found that the applicants had not demonstrated specific illegality warranting the decision being quashed.
The turbine, built in 2021, was 36 metres from its permitted location. Clare County Council granted retention permission in September 2022, and An Bord Pleanála granted permission on appeal in October 2023, subject to 10 conditions. The 800kW turbine serves a factory and has been fully operational since June 2024.
The applicants challenged the permission on several grounds, including the treatment of environmental assessment, effects on noise and residential amenity, radar concerns, public access to planning documents and impacts on protected sites. The court said many of the grounds were not particularised as required for judicial review. It also found that the applicants had not established their environmental objections with evidence sufficient to show the assessments were legally deficient.
The judgment found that the Board had considered the 2006 wind energy guidelines and the 2019 draft guidelines. It said the 500-metre setback cited by the applicants was not a binding requirement. The Board had also addressed noise and shadow flicker, including through conditions, and was entitled to impose aviation-related conditions rather than require a new radar impact assessment. The court noted that a radar assessment had been submitted for the original permission and that the radar station was about 7.5 kilometres away.
On environmental assessment, the court held that the Board’s preliminary examination ruled out a real likelihood of significant environmental effects, so a formal EIA screening determination was not required. It concluded that section 34(12) of the Planning and Development Act did not prevent the grant of retention permission in those circumstances. The court also found that the applicants had not shown that the project-splitting or appropriate-assessment challenges justified relief. A challenge concerning the council’s publication of documents failed because the council was not a party to the proceedings.
The court refused the applicants’ late request to reopen the evidence and file further ecological evidence after the hearing. It dismissed the proceedings. Unless a party applies otherwise by written submission within seven days, the order is to be perfected on the basis of no order as to costs. The matter was listed for 10 February 2025 to confirm the order.