‘Premature’ Ashbourne truck park refused as planners warn it would ‘seriously injure’ local amenity
Plans for a large-scale truck park on a 2.37-hectare rural site in Ashbourne have been refused by Meath County Council, which cited major concerns over traffic safety, residential impact and environmental risk.
The development, proposed by Sorcon Plant Ltd at Primatestown, sought permission for a truck park accommodating 20 “articulated and rigid tipper” trucks, 22 staff car spaces, ancillary plant and machinery, and a 284 sq.m four-bay maintenance building with a large concrete apron.
The plans also included an upgraded entrance onto the R155, a new 120-metre internal access road, the demolition of an existing domestic garage, and extensive boundary walls and gates.
Part of the existing dwelling was to be converted into ancillary office accommodation, while a new wastewater treatment system and landscaping to screen the site from the N2 and R155 were also proposed.
Retention permission was sought for a 2.1-metre-high, 150-metre earthen berm along the western boundary. A Natura Impact Statement accompanied the application.
However, planners refused the development on several grounds.
The council said the applicant had not demonstrated a “satisfactory locational justification or need for a commercial development of this nature and scale at this rural location.”
It added that it was not “satisfied that the proposed development could not reasonably be located within a defined settlement and satisfy standard development management considerations,” particularly in relation to transport.
The planning authority also found the development did not meet the county’s definition of a micro-enterprise, which applies only to businesses with fewer than 10 employees, and said the applicant had not “adequately demonstrated” that the development would not generate significant or “undue traffic”.
Concerns were also raised about the impact on nearby homes, with the council stating that the commercial nature of the truck park — combined with associated lighting, noise and vehicle movements — would “seriously injure” residential amenity and depreciate property values.
Planners further noted that the development, when taken with other existing and permitted projects in the area, would contribute to “a haphazard and incongruous pattern of development” and would set a precedent for further “commercial encroachment” in the rural landscape.
Traffic safety was also part of the refusal. According to planners, the upgraded entrance would open directly onto the R155 regional strategic route, where the speed limit is 80 km/h.
“The entrance and the additional turning movements created by the development would interfere with the unobstructed, safe and free flow of traffic on the public road,” the decision stated.
The council also said the applicant had not demonstrated that the required 160-metre sightlines could be achieved in line with Transport Infrastructure Ireland standards, describing the resulting situation as a potential “traffic hazard”.
Environmental concerns also informed the decision. Planners said they had not been provided with “sufficient information” to confirm the development would not have significant effects on the River Nanny Estuary and Shore Special Protection Area. As a result, the council deemed the proposal “premature” in the absence of an Appropriate Assessment.