Appeals lodged to stop Laois Bio-gas Plant

The deadline for lodging appeals to An Bord Pleanála (ABP) was yesterday (25/01/21) and numerous appeals have been submitted with a view to stopping the Bio-Gas plant going ahead. The plant is planned to cover parts of the townlands of Clonboyne and Clonkeen. For more info on the proposed plant click on a previous Laois People article here.

The Portlaoise Action against Super Dump grouping has ramped up its campaign against the planned facility as soon as word seeped out that Laois County Council had granted conditional approval to Bord na Móna Powergen Ltd for the facility in Cúil Na Móna Bog. That news earlier in January 5th upset and angered many local residents.

According to Bord na Mona’s website here the company envisages that up to to 80,000 tonnes of non-hazardous, biodegradable and organic materials would be treated every year. The company estimates that up to 5,500 homes could be supplied with enough renewable biogas from the facility. 

However that tonnage figure would require approximately 30,000 truck trips per year to and from the proposed plant. That extra traffic and any smell from the plant are just two grounds on which locals will have appealed to ABP. Indeed the Super Dump grouping has utilised the services of a Planning Consultant to submit an appeal of their own. Apart from the group’s appeal many of the original 260 objectors have submitted appeals of their own to ABP.