Roadstone has been refused planning permission for a €50m biomethane facility at its Killough quarry in Tipperary.

The company had proposed to build an agriculturally supplied anaerobic digestion (AD) plant to produce biomethane gas, much of which would be used within the quarry to decarbonise its asphalt plant, concrete plant, limestone processing facility and ongoing quarrying operations located on site.

The plant was proposed to be supplied with agricultural feedstock, requiring approximately 15,000t of chicken manure, 20,000t of cattle slurry, 60,000t of grass silage, 5,000t of maize silage and 5,000t of pot ale and spent grain annually.

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Refusal

Tipperary County Council refused permission for the development on three grounds.

It stated that it was not satisfied that adequate information had been provided to assess the environmental and land-use risks of the proposed development and the limitations of the revised land use planning risk assessment.

The council also said it was not satisfied that the proposal adequately addressed road safety requirements. The plant was proposed to use the same entrance as the quarry and to keep traffic levels below those permitted for the operational quarry.

However, the council said the application site does not include sufficient lands to achieve the required sightlines at the site entrance and it has not been demonstrated that the necessary works can be carried out.

The development was therefore considered to endanger public safety by reason of traffic hazard.

Finally, Tipperary County Council said that the environmental impact assessment report does not comply with Article 94(1)(d) of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 (as amended), due to deficiencies in the assessment of alternative locations.

Welcomed

The decision was welcomed by the Killough Biogas Concern Group, a group of local residents who ran a campaign objecting to the proposal, advocating for the plant to be relocated and for tighter regulations around AD developments.

More than 200 submissions were received, including submissions from environmentalist Peter Sweetman and Alan Kelly TD.

Posting online, the group said: “We want to sincerely thank everyone who took the time to engage with the process - residents, families, experts, supporters near and far, and those who made submissions. Your voices mattered.”

“This is a win for communities in rural Ireland. We need to keep standing together and supporting each other,” the group said.

For more on the proposed plant, click here.