Parts of Tipperary being ‘destroyed’ by wind farms, councillor claims
Concerns have been raised about the growing number of wind farm developments in County Tipperary, with one councillor claiming some parts of the county are being “destroyed”.
At the July plenary meeting of Tipperary County Council, independent councillor Jim Ryan asked the council’s planning directorate if there is a limit on how many wind farms can be developed in one county.
“The question I have to ask is who is putting a limit on the number of wind farms that are allowed in every county in Ireland?” Cllr Ryan asked.
“Is it a case that we’re just going to continue — either the council or An Coimisiún Pleanála — are going to continue, in the vast majority of cases, to keep granting planning permission all over the country?
“Personally, I don’t like the look of them, we’ve attended numerous public meetings of local communities who are totally distressed over planning applications that are going in and planning applications that are being granted for wind farms in local communities,” he added.
The Thurles-based councillor said that it seemed to him like Tipperary was a particularly popular area for wind farm developers, with planning applications being lodged on a regular basis.
“They’re going up everywhere. There’s beautiful areas of Tipperary that, in my opinion, are being destroyed by these huge wind turbines,” Cllr Ryan said.
While Cllr Ryan asked whether there was a cap on wind farm developments, the council said future regional planning policy is expected to include renewable energy targets for each county.
In response, senior planner Anne-Marie Devaney said that an upcoming change to the Southern Regional Assembly’s Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES) will set limits and targets for renewable developments in each county.
“As part of the forthcoming RSES review, which was recently open for public consultation, it’s anticipated that the RSES will set out the targets for each county within the southern region,” she said.
“Tipperary will be assigned renewable energy targets for both wind and solar, and possibly biogas also. Members can engage with that process and we as a council will also be engaging with that process once the draft RSES is published,” Ms Devaney added.
“After that, we will be coming back to you with a report and observations with respect to the draft and any targets within it,” she told councillors.