Calls for developer to withdraw plans for Wexford wind farm due to ‘overwhelming opposition’

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

Councillors from the Gorey Kilmuckridge District have called upon the developers of a proposed eight turbine wind farm to withdraw their plans for the project due to “overwhelming opposition” from local residents.

The site for Kilmichael Wind Farm, which is currently at the pre-planning stage, is approximately 5km west of Gorey and, if approved, would see the construction of eight wind turbines, each with a height of up to 180m, and a substation at Glandoran. Regnum Renewables is developing the project and says it is currently undergoing a “comprehensive programme of environmental and technical assessments” prior to submitting its planning application.

The project has been met with strong opposition by those living in affected area leading to the formation of a committee group which has vowed to “fight this in the strongest possible terms”.

The No to Kilmichael Wind Farm group was formed with the express intention of stopping the “entire development going ahead”, and the group has now received the majority support of the ten councillors representing the Gorey Kilmuckridge Municipal District (GKMD).

At its May meeting, Councillor Joe Sullivan submitted a motion in which he asked that the GKMD call on Regnum Renewables to “withdraw their proposal for Kilmichael Windfarm in the townlands of Mount Nebo, Craan Upper, Slievebawn, Monaseed, Demense and Kilmichael, Gorey due to the overwhelming opposition to the project by the residents of the aforementioned areas.”

Explaining why he had felt compelled to submit this motion, Cllr Sullivan, who is currently the cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council (WCC), said it was his duty to ensure the voice of the people was heard. Having previously met with the development team behind the project, Cllr Sullivan said he had not initially been aware of the scale of the wind farm.

“I met with Ivan Yates and Kevin Daly at the Ashdown Park Hotel and we had also had a deputation at one of our meetings last year, and at no stage was I informed how big and how intrusive this operation was going to be,” he said. “It’s only over the last couple of months that I’ve come to appreciate the sheer scale of this project.

“In that time I have also learned about the potential health impacts, the environmental concerns, and the decrease in value of people’s houses, none of these are being factored in by the developer.”

The motion was swiftly seconded by Cllr Donal Kenny who said the proposed wind farm was situated in his locality and would affect “some of my neighbours and members of my family”.

However, Cllr Oliver Walsh voiced his opposition to the motion, contending that it was outside the remit of local councillors to interfere in planning cases.

“As councillors our role in the planning process comes with the creation of the county development plan (CDP). I have been involved in the last three CDPs so I know a bit about it,” he said. “The current CDP lays out our strategy for wind energy; there is a small area in the county which is open for consideration for wind turbines, and it doesn’t include the area proposed by this developer. So, we’ve already agreed that we didn’t want to see wind turbines in this area. The motion isn’t going to change that”

Arguing that the final decision on whether to approve the wind farm rests with the “relevant authority”, Cllr Walsh said the council would set a “dangerous precedent” if it interfered in this development before a planning decision had been made.

He received the support of Cllr Pip Breen who said it wasn’t the role of county councillors to “dictate to the council or the planning department”.

However, Cllr Sullivan found it strange that the two councillors who opposed his motion lived the furthest away from the proposed wind farm.

“I find it difficult that the two people who live furthest away from the site are opposing the motion, something smells to high heaven about that,” he noted.

“There’s 28 wind turbines in the area I live in,” replied Cllr Breen.

“These ones are twice the size,” said Cllr Sullivan.

Those were the only dissenting voices, though, as Cllrs Nicky Boland, Craig Doyle, and Paddy Kavanagh all voiced their support for Cllr Sullivan’s motion.

“There’s over 600 homes affected and we’re elected to support the people of this district, they have expressed their unhappiness about this project and we, as the elected members, should represent their views.,” said Cllr Boland.

Cllr Kavanagh compared this project to a proposed solar farm in Gusserane which has been the subject of similar protests in that area.

“The people pushing the agenda for renewables, whether it be solar or wind, just want to get their applications over the line,” he argued.

Taking a more nuanced view, Cllr Mary Farrell said she “fully supported” renewable energy but also understood that it was a “dreadful situation” for those living in the area.

It was left to Ms Liz Hore, director of planning with WCC, to outline the current status of the wind farm and the likely route any future application would take once submitted.

“There’s no planning application in on this at the moment and it won’t come to WCC,” she said. “It’s going to be classified as a strategic infrastructure development and will go straight to An Coimisiún Pleanála (ACP) for a decision.”

Regardless, Cllr Sullivan’s motion was put to a vote with all bar Cllr Walsh voting in favour of it. That motion will be sent to ACP once a planning application has been submitted by Regnum Renewables.

Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that a delegation from the No to Kilmichael Wind Farm will attend the June meeting of the GKMD.