A West Clare woman has been successful in her High Court bid to overturn planning permission granted for a wind farm near her home.
In his judgement yesterday, Mr Justice Max Barrett criticised An Bord Pleanala for a lack of clarity in giving the go-ahead for six wind turbines at Coor West, Shanvogh, Co. Clare.
In 2011, Clare County Council refused planning permission for the original application by McMahon Wind Aquisitions Ltd for six turbines at Coor West, Shanvogh, on a number of grounds including visual and noise impact and water pollution risks.
This was appealed to An Bord Pleanala, who asked the developer for specific information to address deficiencies and in 2014, gave the go-ahead for the development.
Kathleen Connolly appealed to the High Court for reasons including that the board failed to meet requirements of the planning acts in assessing and in making a decision on the application.
Yesterday, the judge was critical of the planning authority, saying decisions of public bodies must be clear enough for people to decide if there is a legal basis to challenge them.
He ruled that Ms Connolly was entitled to an order quashing the board’s grant of permission for the development in 2014.
