Planning permissions in Gabhra Valley begin

meath | environment | press release

Monday July 10, 2006 13:36

by Muireann Ni Bhrolchain - Save Tara

muireann at savetara dot com

Kildare

087-9249510

Minister Roche promised

Despite Minister Roche's assurances, the planning permissions are beginning in the Gabhra Valley, right in the middle beside the proposed interchange. Who said the Valley would not be swallowed up by development and the road hasn't even started yet.
Everyone can object to this.

The peaceful river Gabhra

(This is much more important than who said what where and when)
Object to planing application no. NA 60204 and the deadline for submissions is 14 July, €20 to accompany.
Meath County Council, Planning Section, Planning
Authority, County Hall, Railway St, Navan, Co Meath.

(Photos available on the yahoo site.)

The location of this application is on land that is zoned 'land
improvement'. The application is for a Waste Recycling Facility at
Garlow Cross, Philpotstown, right at the interchange and right beside
the historic Gabhra River, right in the valley itself. It is located
beside Dillon's bridge and only 1525m from Tara.

It says: 'It is only proposed to recycle construction and demolition
waste, as was indicated above, on the land at Garlow Cross.' It also
states that it is 100metres away from the N3.

Roche said: ‘as a statutory consultee on individual planning applications he intends ensuring that heritage protection remains a priority in this area.’ (press release 13/05/05) when he gave directions last hear.

What will it recycle? The archaeological remains of our ancestors and our history? So much for his aim ‘to protect the rural character, setting and archaeological heritage of the landscape in the vicinity of Tara and the new motorway’. (press release 13/05/05)

The following advice from Julitta Clancy:
Obvious grounds are (1) location in Tara hinterland, (2) Minister's
Directions of 11 May 2005 re protection of the "rural character, setting and
archaeological heritage of the landscape in the vicinity of Tara”, (3) new
MCC Draft Development plan objectives listing such protection as a key
objective, and 4) technical deficiencies in the application itself.

You might also note the item in last week's chronicle re the NRA seeking
people to develop service stations along motorways and mentioning the
Blundelstown Interchange as one such location. There is a need to write to
the Minister re this as it would seem to be in flagrant contradiction of his
wish to protect this area from inappropriate development (despite the damage
done by the M3)

It could also be pointed out, on a separate aspect relating to transport,
that many commuters are now availing of the N2 and M2 as a means of
travelling from Navan and other places north of Dunshaughlin into Dublin and
out again. This is due to the road works at Dunshaughlin and the huge
additional congestion between Fairyhouse and Blanchardstown due to the
closure of the Clonee to Dunboyne Road. This is in the area where the M3
will join the N3 and if the closure of one side road is making such an
impact what will the M3 extra traffic do here? Many people will go for the
toll free M2 as a means of getting onto and off the M50. At any rate,
without a train service to Navan and beyond, all this will be worse in the
future.