Churchill asphalt plant granted alteration of operating hours by planning body

Permission has been granted for the extension of opening hours at a Churchill asphalt plant, up to a maximum of 30 days annually.

An Bord Pleanála gave the go-ahead to the application by Moyle Plant Ltd, which sought permission for an alteration of operating and opening hours to its plant at Keeloges, Churchill.

While Donegal County Council gave conditional planning permission, the decision was appealed to the planning body.

The Board decided by a 2-1 majority to grant permission in accordance with the recommendation of an inspector who had visited the site and assessed the various documents lodged by parties.

A submission on the application was submitted by Sean Geary on behalf of Churchill and Derrora Residents Group. 

Issues raised included: Lack of consultation and communication with residents; alleged non-compliance with opening hours set out previously; alleged breach of air pollution licence and emission monitoring; and concerns over noise pollution.

The objection cited that a previous condition was that no more than four blasts be carried out in a calendar month, but figures showed seven blasts in July, 2023 and five in September, 2023.

The facility was operating to supply road works carried out by the Council in September 2023, the submission said, claiming that there was “no communication or notification received by residents” at that time.“The plant has been allowed to operate at night for three years and not once has the operator contacted any of us to inform us of night time opening,” the objection stated.

In November 2022, a senior planner from Donegal County Council wrote to the developer to impress the need to obtain advance approval for any intended operation outside of the permitted hours and warned that any such breach “cannot be merely undone or remedied retrospectively”.

The Board said it had regard to the County Donegal Development Plan 2024-2030 and considered that, subject to compliance with the conditions, the proposed development would not affect the residential amenities of the area, would not be prejudicial to public health and would not have unacceptable impacts on the environment.

Planners determined that the extended hours of operation be permitted for a temporary period of two years, after which time the plant will revert to the usual hours of operation.

Initialising and heating of the batching plant will be permitted to commence at 5.30am and not at all on Sundays or public holidays, unless under exceptional circumstances up to a maximum of 30 recorded and notified occurrences per annum.

Removal or loading of heated material into lorries, which are to be parked in the quarry from the previous night, will be permitted to commence at 6.30am Monday-Saturday, unless under exceptional circumstances up to a maximum of 30 recorded and notified occurrences per annum.

All asphalt and batman batching operations and associated activities will cease at 8pm Monday-Friday and 4pm on Saturdays while the hours of operation for normal quarry operations remains between 7am-7pm Monday-Friday, 8am-4pm on Saturdays and not at all on Sundays or public holidays. 

Noise level restrictions are also to be imposed.

The Board has directed that the developer must notify the planning authority, in writing, and obtain written agreement at least seven days in advance of planned works prior to any works taking place between 8pm-5.30am.

In a letter initially lodged with the County Council, the applicant, through an architect outlined how: “There is a necessity to carry these works out in the evenings or during night time hours. The reason for this is to reduce any traffic disruptions”.

It admitted that, heretofore, authorisation for such works had been given on an “ad-hoc basis” and added: “The necessity to lay the product at night has crept in. As the product must be hot when laid, the product must be produced within a short time of it being laid and so the need for the asphalt plant to operate into the night on occasion arises. 

“For the company to be competitive in the market, it is essential that they are in a position to operate in a similar fashion to other asphalt suppliers.”

Back in 2018, Donegal County Council refused permission for the construction of a bitmac batching plant with all associated site works within existing quarry and in May 2021 permission was granted for the modification and upgrading of the existing asphalt concrete batching plant.

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The local authority also granted permission for a 25-year period, in 2019, for the quarrying of 19.9 hectares, which will be subject to extraction and processing of rock by drilling, blasting, crushing and screening; construction of a settlement/clarifier tank and associated ancillary facilities; landscaping of the quarry during the operational phase and restoration of the quarry on completion of extraction; all associated ancillary facilities/works.”