Tullamore sterilisation plant gets go ahead

An Bord Pleanála has given the go-ahead for a 6,726 square-metre sterilisation technology plant on the outskirts of Tullamore which will employ up to 30 people when it becomes fully operational.

The board rejected appeals brought by five residents living in the vicinity of the facility against a decision of Offaly County Council to grant planning permission for the plant in February of last year.

Synergy Health Ireland Ltd., which is part of the Steris Group, sought permission from the Offaly local authority for a sterilisation process facility, with an office block attached to the front of the building, and ancillary technical external rooms on a 3.1 hectare site fronting the R420 Clara Road, just north of the Applegreen filling station.

The company already has a facility in Tullamore based at the IDA Business and Technology Park, and the proposal to build a sterilisation plant on the R420 Clara Road attracted a number of objections from residents living in the area,

When Offaly County Council approved the project last year, subject to 12 conditions five residents: Enda Scally; David McGettigan; Siobhán McGettigan; JJ O'Brien and Annette Molloy appealed that decision to An Bord Pleanála.

The residents objected on a number of grounds, including the proposed height of the building which will be almost twice the height of any building in the nearby Axis Business Park. The central area of the proposed building will be 19.6m high, rising to 22.5m by the addition of a flue, while the maximum height of the remainder of the building will be between nine and 12m high.

The proposed height was considered neither “oppressive or intrusive “ in the report compiled by an inspector for An Bord Pleanala, who noted that the general location of the plant (Srah/Ballyduff) is “associated with industrial buildings” and that the proposed development “will not look out of place, and represents a high quality design and finish.” The report also noted that the building is to be set back 40 metres from the roadside boundary and will be 141.5 metres from the dwelling to the north. “There is ample separation distance between the building and dwellings on the opposite side of the R420 which acts as a physical buffer area” she concluded,

The inspector noted the concerns of the appellants regarding the safety of traffic on the regional road in close proximity to the facility and also their concerns about traffic turning movements, in particular HGV's to and from the plant. However, she was satisfied that the traffic impact assessment and safety issues had been “adequately addressed” by the applicant at the design stage.

The inspectors report also noted that the applicant had confirmed that there will be “up to 32 two-way HGV movements per day when the facility is operating at full capacity” and that the proposed development will generate “up to 122 vehicular movements over a 24 hour period, comprising 90 cars + 32 HGV's.”

Concerns expressed by third parties about the zoning of the greenfield site were also rejected, with the inspector stating she was satisfied the proposed development is "in keeping with the Business or Technology Park zoning objective of the site.”

A number of environmental concerns raised in the appeal in relation to noise/acoustics; daylight/sunlight impacts and the use of chemicals were also rejected, with the inspector's report stating that no chemicals are to be used to generate the x-rays used in the sterilization process.

“The x-rays are produced by the same electricity used to heat the homes abutting,” the report stated, adding that “the sterilization process is safe, and there will be no hazardous emissions.”