Glanbia could still have its new cheese plant in Belview operational by 2024, despite the development now being subject to a full Supreme Court hearing.

Last week, An Taisce was granted leave to appeal to the Supreme Court regarding the granting of planning permission for the south Kilkenny processing plant.

But a Glanbia source insisted that the €200m development could still be operational by 2024, should the Supreme Court find in the dairy processor’s favour.

Review

In April this year, the High Court upheld the planning approval granted by An Bord Pleanála for the new Belview plant, which is a joint venture between Glanbia and Dutch firm Royal A-ware.

However, this decision was the subject of a judicial review application by An Taisce and last week’s ruling means that Supreme Court will now decide on the matter.

In its finding, the Supreme Court stated that: “The issue in these proceedings, which is said to meet the constitutional threshold for leave to appeal, concerns questions about evidence, and the obligation to produce same, in cases where a proposed development may involve potential effects on areas protected under the Habitats Directive.”

Reacting to the ruling, Glanbia Ireland chair John Murphy said: “We remain totally committed to this project, which was granted planning approval by Kilkenny County Council in November of 2019. This project is critical to our market diversification post Brexit.”

The new Belview plant is projected to produce up to 50,000t of continental-style cheeses when it becomes fully operational.

Clarity

An Taisce welcomed the Supreme Court decision to accept its appeal, which it claimed will “provide clarity on important points of law.”

The matter will return to court in several weeks, following the exchange of legal submissions, at which point a hearing date will be assigned.

It is possible that the long-running legal battle could proceed to Europe, but such an eventuality is at the discretion of the Supreme Court.