Tipperary water treatment plant upgrade a ‘missed opportunity’
Planning permission has been granted for the upgrading of a Tipperary wastewater treatment plant – but concerns remain as to who will benefit.
Tipperary County Council granted permission to Uisce Éireann for the upgrade of the Grangemockler wastewater treatment plant, which would see an Integrated Constructed Wetland type Wastewater Treatment Plant to treat water from the Grangemockler area, as well as all other associated works.
An Integrated Constructed Wetland mimics natural wetlands to treat wastewater in an environmentally friendly way.
The new wastewater treatment plant will allow the Grangemockler area to grow over the next 30 years, planning files say, and will upgrade compliance with national guidelines around waste water treatment.
"The proposed WWTP is intended to be developed with an additional capacity to cater for an element of future growth and provide better treatment standards,” agents for Uisce Éireann said.
The utility also states that upgrading the Grangemockler plant is a “high priority” for them, and that upgrading infrastructure countrywide is also among their priorities.
However, local submissions to the council point out that the upgrade will benefit only three housing estates — Mill Road, Lingaun Park, and Slieveardagh — while much of Grangemockler, including its main streets, will remain on individual septic tanks.
In a submission, south Tipperary TD Michael Murphy said that while the development as a whole is to be welcomed, it also represents a “missed opportunity”.
"I note, in particular, that the proposal will serve only the three existing housing estates in the village -the two local authority housing estates at Mill Road and Lingaun Park and the private housing estate at Slieveardagh.
"While this is very welcome and will lead to an improvement in the current wastewater treatment facilities in Grangemockler, I feel that there is a missed opportunity as there is no proposal to provide a sewer to serve the remainder of the village," Deputy Murphy said in his submission.
Pointing out that much of the village is served by individual septic tanks, the Fine Gael TD called for the rest of the village to be included in the wastewater treatment plant.
"The main arteries in Grangemockler – the national secondary road N76 and the Mill Road- are not sewered and all existing developments (St. Mary’s Church, the Cardinal Browne Community Centre, Grangemockler National School and all individual houses and commercial properties) are served by individual septic tanks.
"The current planning application presents an opportunity for this deficiency to be addressed and I feel that Uisce Éireann should be asked to include the provision of the necessary drainage network in its current proposal,” Deputy Murphy added.
Tipperary County Council granted planning permission for the development, subject to 10 conditions.