Tullamore biogas facility plan gets green light from An Bord Pleanála

The building of a large biogas facility on the Clara Road in Tullamore would “not be prejudicial to public health” and would not give rise to “a risk of serious pollution” according to An Bord Pleanála which has granted planning permission for the facility,.

The biogas plant had been refused planning permission by Offaly County Council in January, 2021, but the applicant had appealed the decision to the planning board.

The ruling by An Bord Pleanála this week gives the green light to a company called Strategic Power Limited to build a renewable biogas facility on a site at Ballyduff, just 2.2km from the town centre of Tullamore, which will receive organic matter such as animal manure and food waste and convert it into biogas and organic fertiliser.

Local people living in the vicinity of the proposed facility, along with businesses operating in the nearby Axis Business Park, have waged a strong campaign of opposition to the plant and are reviewing their options at the moment in light of the decision of An Bord Pleanála to give the go-ahead for the project.

In outlining their reasons for granting planning permission to Strategic Power, An Bord Pleanála considered a number of matters, including the pattern of existing and permitted development in the vicinity of the site, and the potential future development of surrounding lands; the location of the proposed plant on the outskirts of Tullamore and in close proximity to the source of agricultural feedstock material; the requirement for the plant to the subject to, and regulated under, an industrial emissions licence to be issued by the EPA and “mitigation measures proposed” for the control of emissions to the environment relating to emissions to air and the minimisation of odours and noise.

As part of their consideration of the planning application, An Bord Pleanala also carried out an environmental impact assessment, and it concluded that, subject to compliance with 13 separate conditions, “the effects on the environment of the proposed development, both by itself and in combination with other development in the area would be acceptable.”

Among the conditions attached the granting of planning permission is a requirement that no more than 50,000 tonnes of raw materials per year be treated in the anaerobic digesters; that an annual report of the operation of the facility be submitted to Offaly County Council and that the maximum amount of biogas present on the site at any one time can “never exceed the maximum amount that can be stored on site” in order to comply with the Seveso Directive, which is the mechanism enshrined in EU legislation to deal with the control of on-shore major accident hazards involving dangerous substances.

Previously, Offaly County Council had refused planning permission for the project.

It ruled that, having regard to the information contained in the Environmental Impact Assessment Report, it was not satisfied in the absence of information to state otherwise, that the development would not cause serious air pollution which may have a significant impact on the environment and public health.

There were a significant number of submissions as part of the planning process.

Among concerns expressed were the increased traffic volumes on both the Rahan and Clara roads; the fear of an explosion at the plant, which will operate on a 24 hour 7 day a week basis; noise pollution and the significant risk to human health and to the environment as a result of the emission of strong odours from the plant.