New construction and demolition waste facility planned near Laois village
C&D recycling and storage facility planned on 11 hectare Laois woodland site
Planning permission is sought in Laois for a new facility to take in construction and demolition (C&D) waste.
Laois County Council has received an application for the new Laois business, on 10.9 hectares of land between Emo and Ballybrittas.
Applicant Arkil (Civil) Ltd (trading as Killeen Civil Engineering) plans to develop a site next to the R445 old Dublin Road.
The site lies 1.5km away from Junction 15 of the M7, 1.5km from Ballybrittas village, and 1.5km from Emo Court.
It would take in tens of thousands of tonnes of waste per year, a byproduct of the construction industry, for recycling and also for permanent storage.
The company seeks permission for the phased removal of immature native woodland scrub and a failed conifer tree plantation. That would be replaced by sequential infilling to approximately 1.25m in depth, estimated at 198,000 tonnes.
A new C&D waste recovery facility would be located on a new unpaved hardstanding area to the north-west of the site.
That will facilitate the recovery of approximately 24,000 tonnes of soil and C&D waste per annum.
“The recovery facility provides for the processing / recycling of inert C&D waste (principally solid / reinforced concrete, bricks, ceramics and solid bituminous waste mixtures) using mobile crushing and screening equipment to produce recycled (secondary) aggregate” the application says.
Surrounding hardstanding areas would be used for handling and storage of both unprocessed C&D wastes and recycled aggregates.
Killeen Civil Engineering also proposes the construction of a portal frame building measuring 3,058sqm, with roof-mounted solar panels.
They would accommodate a workshop, offices and staff welfare facilities.
There would also be a carpark for staff and visitors and bicycle parking on a concrete paved area to the south-west of the site.
The company also seeks permission to upgrade the existing site entrance from the R445 Regional Road, to upgrade the internal access road into the site, and provide a weighbridge, site office, and wheelwash.
They plan to install surface water management infrastructure, including silt traps and a hydrocarbon interceptor attenuation pond for storm runoff and a new foul wastewater treatment system.
They also seek permission for landscaping, boundary treatment, fencing and internal hard and soft landscaping and all ancillary site development works, including water services, utilities and lighting.
An Ecological Impact Assessment recommended mitigation and enhancement measures to address impacts on wildlife species on the site. They include two red-listed bird species, Snipe and Yellowhammer. It is also home to Goldcrest on the amber list, smooth newt, common lizard, bats, hedgehogs, pine marten, red squirrel, common frog and badger.
A Natura Impact Statement (NIS) will also be submitted to the planning authority.
A noise impact assessment said that construction phase noise would be below 65 dB, and operational noise below 55 dB, with a less than 12% increase in road traffic.
A flood risk assessment found that it is in a Flood Zone C with “a low risk of flooding”.
The planning application was first submitted to Laois County Council in August 2026, but was returned as invalid and has now been resubmitted.