Plan to extract 800,000 tonnes at Laois mountain quarry appealed

A planning permission to extend a quarry and extract 800,000 tonnes of sand and gravel in the Slieve Bloom Mountains has been appealed. 

Anne and Michael Carroll have appealed Laois County Council’s decision to grant a ten year approval for the quarry to operate in the townlands of Mountall and Cummer in Camross in the Slieve Blooms.  

Laois County Council approved the plans subject to 17 conditions last month. That permission has now been appealed to An Comisiun Pleanala.

Breedon Materials Ltd had sought permission for the “continued use and extension to existing permitted sand and gravel pit, extraction of sand and gravel with processing and washing of material. An Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) and Natura Impact Assessment (NIS) have been submitted with this application.” 

The existing gravel pit measures 1.2 hectares and Breedon wants to extend the quarrying area to cover around eight hectares of the total 12 hectare site.

The planning permission was granted despite being opposed by a number of local groups including the Slieve Bloom Association, Camross Tidy Towns, Paddock National School, Mountrath Scout Group and Ballyfin CDA. In all, the planning application with Laois County Council attracted 67 submissions. 

The application site is located within the townlands of Mounthall and Cummer, Camross, Co. Laois, approximately 3.5 km from the Laois / Offaly county border on the southeastern flanks of the Slieve Bloom mountains and c. 3km north of Camross village 9km northwest of Mountrath and 18km west of Portlaoise.

In their submission to Laois County Council, Anne and Michael Carroll said:  “Our home is one of six residential properties located within 250m of the proposed development. This scale of this proposed development is of massive concern to me and my family.” 

They expressed concerns about their water supply which comes from a private well and in relation to the dust and noise which the development would produce. They also raised concerns about the scale of the development which they said would bring Heavy Goods Vehicles(HGV) to the mountain roads. 

They said there are no footpaths and no cycle lanes along the roads and they would be unsafe for either pedestrians or cyclists.   

“It is very obvious these roads are not able for the level and size of vehicles that are already travelling on them so how are they expected to deal with a further minimum amount of 24 HGV per day?,” they stated. 

The Carrolls also stated that they were unhappy with the lack of consultation with local residents and they didn’t envisage any benefit to the local community from the quarry. 

In granting the application subject to 17 conditions, Laois County Council stated that: “it is considered that, subject to compliance with the conditions set out in the Second Schedule, the proposed development would not seriously injure the amenities of the area, would not be prejudicial to public health, would be acceptable in terms of traffic safety and would be in accordance with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.” 

An Comisiun Pleanala will now have to decide on the planning appeal.