Condron Concrete refused permission for further quarry development
An application to extend the extraction area at a quarry in the Screggan area of Tullamore by local company, Condron Concrete, has been refused by Offaly County Council on the grounds that it “may be prejudicial to public health.”
The council made its ruling due to the proposed development being located within the Agall public water source protection area, which is used for domestic and public water supplies. “In the absence of satisfactory details to the contrary,” planners stated that the project “may cause adverse effects on the local ground water quality, composition and water levels.”
Condron Concrete Limited sought a planning permission of 30 years for the completion of a proposed development at the Agall Quarry site, within the townslands of Agall and Glaskill, Screggan consisting of further quarry development concerning an authorised quarry; an extension of the area of the quarry into known aggregate reserves; provision of boundary berms, provision of an access route to the new extraction areas; re-commencement of quarry works within 3.81ha of the lands already subject to quarrying consent and permission to quarry 2m deeper than existing quarry floors permitted under existing consent; continued use of existing established pit infrastructure; and phased restoration of the site, The company also sought permission for dry screening and short-term stockpiling of aggregates over an application area of 17 ha.
The planning application attracted 11 submissions from residents living in the vicinity of the Agall Quarry, including a petition from the Agall Residents Association signed by almost 40 residents. Among the concerns raised in the submissions were issues related to noise pollution; air quality; increased traffic; environmental damage; water pollution; quality of life; mental health impacts; property values and insurability.
Planning documents state that the existing quarry has been operational by Condron Concrete Limited since 1985 and has been in operation as a quarry since 1913. It is envisaged that the proposed development will commence following the exhausting of aggregate from the current quarry “providing an aid to securing local employment in the medium term” but the applicants also clarify that “no significant additional employment is expected” from their application.
Further information on the planning application was requested in July last, but the planner’s report concluded that the applicants had not “sufficiently addressed” the planning authority's request in the information submitted.
The report stated that “insufficient information” had been submitted in regard to the likely environmental impacts of the proposed development, and insufficient information had also been submitted in relation to the likely impacts of the proposed development on the Agall public water source. This led the council's planner to state that he “cannot conclude with certainty” that the proposed development would not “pose a risk to the Agall water source” or that it would not “pose a risk to public health.”
“In my opinion, therefore, it would be premature to grant permission at this time, and the raised matters cannot be satisfactorily addressed by way of a condition,” said the planner, who recommended that permission be refused.