A significant win

The people of south Galway remain jubilant after their recent victory against An Bord Pleanála (ABP) during a Judicial Review in the High Court. Gort Biogas Concern Group and the Burren lowlands jointly took this action against the flawed decision of ABP to grant permission for the developers to go ahead. The legal case was funded entirely by the community and local businesses. From receiving the news in 21^st Nov 2023, it took until late March 2024 for the case to be officially concluded, ending our successful Judicial Review against ABP. We will seek to have the recoverable portion of our legal costs returned to the campaign. This was a significant victory for the campaign against the national planning appeals board.

Another battle looms

The developer (not involved in the JR case but a notice party) has been granted remittal by the High Court. This means that they, the developer, does not need to restart the planning process. Instead, they can ask ABP to reconsider the same application again. One of the key points that ABP conceded on was the road realignment at the entrance of the site. Access to the site, as outlined in the application, was from the old Galway Road (R458), this road is a restricted regional road. Creating access for development of this nature onto a restricted regional road contravenes planning law. The developer is now back trying to argue the same application again with ABP, faults and all.

We are now waiting for ABP to contact Gort Biogas Concern Group, Burren Lowlands and all those who sent in observations. They must inform all parties that the application is again back on the desk of ABP. How long will this take? We don’t know. The wheels of planning law are slow, but our community is on its feet and ready for another battle.

Are we deterred? Not at all, we are in a significantly stronger position now than we were back in 2020 when the case first appeared before ABP. Are we frustrated? Yes, but we remain steadfast, with a clear mandate from the people of south Galway, underpinned by the full support of our elected representatives. We have a war chest raised by the community and this will be put to work to fight any battles that come our way. We will continue in our efforts to deter the developers from being able to create any kind of foothold in this area and we have a few things in progress and we hope to update you soon !

Thank you for your ongoing support,

Gort Biogas Concern Group