Residents step up opposition to waste facility

A GROUP of
Northside residents marched on Fingal County Council last week to protest about
a planning application that has been lodged for a controversial open air waste
facility in their area.

The Donaghmede
residents, who staged a small protest outside the council’s headquarters in
Swords, handed a letter of objection to Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Gerry
McGuire.

Donaghmede ward
councillor Brian McDowell (Lab) has backed the residents in their opposition to
the application for a waste facility
permit for Barnmore Demolition and Civil Engineering at their site in Baldoyle
Industrial Estate.

“For years now
the people of Donaghmede and the surrounding area have campaigned against the waste
facility site run by Barnmore,

? Cllr McDowell told Northside People.

“This is an open
air facility which takes in and recycles all types of mixed waste.

“The campaign
was based upon the fact it borders a public park and is within 30 metres of
people’s homes.

?

Cllr McDowell
said it is important that good planning is at the heart of building sustainable
communities.

“The idea that
an open air waste facility would be allowed adjacent to a residential area and
a public park is ridiculous,

? he stated.

“Barnmore have
been given 25 days to issue a response to Fingal County Council to inform the
mayor of any developments on the facility.

“The mayor will
then review the response before making a decision on behalf of the council.

“We’ve had a
number of public meetings about the issue and we will be closely monitoring how
this develops.

“We will
continue with our campaign and hopefully we will have a response in the coming
weeks.

?

Brendan
O’Halloran, director of services at Barnmore Demolition and Civil Engineering,
said it would be

“discourteous

? to go into detail on the future development of
the open air waste facility.

“I have applied
to Fingal County Council to renew my permit,

? Mr O’Halloran told Northside
People.

“However, I cannot go into detail on the
matter.

“I have applied
through a process that is in accordance with legislation.

“I’m aware that
I have to treat all correspondence from the council and locals in an objective
way, but right now I cannot say anything outside that process until further
information is received from the council.

?

In a statement,
Fingal County Council confirmed that there is an application for a waste
facility permit for the Baldoyle area, which is currently under consideration.

“Additional
information has been sought from the applicant and it is anticipated that a
decision on the permit application will be made within the next six to eight
weeks,

? a spokeswoman for the council said.

Malahide Howth
ward councillor Peter Coyle (Lab), who was among those at the protest, said he
was

“confident

? that the planning application for the waste facility would be
rejected.

“If Barnmore
went ahead with a request for a housed waste facility this wouldn’t prove to be
such a big problem,

? he stated.

“Council
management have signalled that they will issue a response to us in three
weeks.

?