South Kildare residents object to planning permission application for local quarry

Communities in South Kildare are concerned that a recently submitted planning proposal made directly to An Bord Pleanála could pave the way for the resumption of major excavation works at the defunct Ballykelly quarry in Co Kildare.

The application is for development on lands located within the townland of Coolsickin or Quinsborough, Monasterevin, Co. Kildare.

A group of concerned residents fears that access to the Barrow Blueway could be under threat if the developers, Bison Quarries get the green light.

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They are also worried that historical blasting issues, which allegedly damaged houses and depleted drinking wells, will re-emerge on a much larger scale.

The group has set up an opposition lobby that has already garnered nearly a thousand signatures at the time of going to press.

A spokesperson for the group of concerned residents, Mr Brendan Byrne, stated: “We are extremely concerned by the high probability that the application to An Bord Pleanála for ‘Substitute Consent’ could be used to justify future reactivation of quarrying activity.

“If ‘Substitute Consent’ applied concurrently with a restoration plan is granted, it would retroactively legalise the previously unauthorised development. This then paves the way to reopen the quarry with a new planning application under the guise of “resuming an established use.”

Locals are very concerned that public health is at risk as quarries are known for releasing dust and pollutants into the air and water systems.

Local people are also becoming increasingly concerned about the risks to general road safety and the potential damage to rural roadways caused by the intense haulage activity associated with quarry excavation.

It is also feared that the resumption of industrial-scale haulage by heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) has the potential to be catastrophic for road surfaces and rural access routes.

Mr Byrne warned: “We could potentially see hundreds of HGVs travelling on these access routes daily from communities as far as Cherryville, Ellistown, Mount Prospect, Mountrice, Lackagh, Clondown, Ballykelly, and Monasterevin town via the Rathangan Rd, Portarlington Rd, and beyond.

“The people of this community and the surrounding areas have been forced to live under a cloud of uncertainty since this application was lodged by a developer who has zero ties to the local area but seeks to impose significant disruption to our daily lives.

“Many of us have spent recent days and weeks handing out leaflets, gathering signatures, submitting objections to An Bord Pleanála and meeting our TDs and Cllrs. Public Awareness is increasing every day as local people come out in force to support the cause.”

Mr Byrne concluded: “We also have template objections we are happy to provide for people before the June 20th deadline. Should they wish to avail of the template submission, they can contact objecttoballykellyquarry@gmail.com.”

Kildare Now was unable to contact a representative of Bison Quarries at the time of going to press.