No council support for wind farm on Mayo's Céide coastline
A proposed wind farm development on the Céide coast is not supported by Mayo County Council.
An Coimisiún Pleanála will have the ultimate say on planning permission for the project, but a submission will be going in from the local authority to say it is not in favour of it.
Elected members agreed with a recommendation for refusal by council planners in relation to the Tirawley Wind Farm, a 16-turbine development proposed by Constant Energy Ireland located four kilometres to the north of Killala and east of Ballycastle.
Members were told by senior planner Brendan Munnelly that in pre-planning discussions with the applicants, they had reiterated their objections to the proposal, which would have a visual impact on the coastline.
The council's draft renewable energy strategy reiterated even more so the fact that the location is inappropriate as it is now designated unsuitable for wind farm developments.
The strategy, when ratified, will form part of the county development plan and for the board to grant permission would be a material contravention of that plan.
Councillor Jarlath Munnelly said it is the view of elected representatives that the proposal is highly speculative and does not enjoy local community support, with no serious effort made to engage with them.
It was also important to defend the policies of their development plan, and that heed is paid to it at national level, he added.
The proposal would damage this spectacular landscape and have a hugely negative impact on householders. It would also destroy the tourism offering of north Mayo, for which a new Wild Mayo strategy has been launched, and this project was at variance with that.
“We either support developing the area as an industrial wind farm or support the tourism offering, but you can't have both,” he said.
His area colleague Councillor Annie May Reape agreed that this unspoilt location has far too much to offer to jeopardise it by putting in turbines. And she agreed there had been very little contact with the community and she was totally opposed to it.
Councillor Harry Barrett hit out that wind farms are being used to satisfy massive electricity demand to power data centres, while householders energy bills are rising.
If this area was industrialised they would never restore it again, he warned.
The community gain fund for energy projects needs to be reviewed, and Councillor Damien Ryan suggested they write to the minister about increasing it significantly.
“There are massive yields from these developments and the community gain fund needs to reflect that,” he stated.
* Funded under the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme