File photo: landowners oppose digging for electical works along their land. \ Ramona Farrelly
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A wind farm in Co Wicklow is seeking a High Court injunction to stop landowners from blocking cable laying works. The dispute centres on the issue of land ownership along public roads.
Counsel for Ballycumber Wind Farm, Stephen Dowling told the court on Wednesday that protesters put themselves in harm’s way by obstructing construction work, which he said was authorised by a road opening licence. He added that if work did not resume this month, the wind farm would miss its commissioning deadline and incur a loss of €3.1m.
Representing eight landowners along the route of the connection between the turbines and the national grid, Oisin Collins argued that his clients owned the land where the wind farm wanted to dig trenches and lay 38kV cables, and that the right of way applying to public roads did not extend to such works by private companies. Landowners and their neighbours present at the hearing told the Irish Farmers Journal that they stood in front of diggers to prevent contractors from beginning work on the land of Tim Healy, one of the defendants, last week.
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“They’re destroying the countryside with the windmills,” local farmer Milo O’Keeffe told the Irish Farmers Journal. “The cattle in the sheds go round in circles with the noise,” he added. His land at Tankersley estate, Co Wicklow is on the route of the grid connection and he is also a defendant in the case. Mr O’Keeffe showed the Irish Farmers Journal land registry maps where the border of his property includes the local road.
Mr Collins warned that the grid connection for Ballycumber Wind Farm extends over 22km and “many more” landowners could become involved in the case if attempts to construct it continue. He offered to supply land registry folios backing up his clients’ property claims, and Justice Paul McDermott adjourned the case to give both sides time to file documents.
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A wind farm in Co Wicklow is seeking a High Court injunction to stop landowners from blocking cable laying works. The dispute centres on the issue of land ownership along public roads.
Counsel for Ballycumber Wind Farm, Stephen Dowling told the court on Wednesday that protesters put themselves in harm’s way by obstructing construction work, which he said was authorised by a road opening licence. He added that if work did not resume this month, the wind farm would miss its commissioning deadline and incur a loss of €3.1m.
Representing eight landowners along the route of the connection between the turbines and the national grid, Oisin Collins argued that his clients owned the land where the wind farm wanted to dig trenches and lay 38kV cables, and that the right of way applying to public roads did not extend to such works by private companies. Landowners and their neighbours present at the hearing told the Irish Farmers Journal that they stood in front of diggers to prevent contractors from beginning work on the land of Tim Healy, one of the defendants, last week.
“They’re destroying the countryside with the windmills,” local farmer Milo O’Keeffe told the Irish Farmers Journal. “The cattle in the sheds go round in circles with the noise,” he added. His land at Tankersley estate, Co Wicklow is on the route of the grid connection and he is also a defendant in the case. Mr O’Keeffe showed the Irish Farmers Journal land registry maps where the border of his property includes the local road.
Mr Collins warned that the grid connection for Ballycumber Wind Farm extends over 22km and “many more” landowners could become involved in the case if attempts to construct it continue. He offered to supply land registry folios backing up his clients’ property claims, and Justice Paul McDermott adjourned the case to give both sides time to file documents.
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