PLANS for a major compost-making factory, which entails the use of chicken manure, on a 26-acre site in Stackallan, is expected to meet with fierce opposition following a meeting of residents in the area on Monday night the 25th of february.
Royal Mushrooms Ltd, which has Monaghan-based directors, has applied to Meath County Council for planning permission for a development at Causestown, Stackallan.
The planned development would include production of phase one, two and three mushroom substrate on 10.7 hectares. Up to 100 residents packed into a meeting room at Ryan's Pub, Gormanlough, to protest at the development.
Fine Gael TD Shane McEntee called for the withdrawal of the company's application, stating that it had raised very serious concerns amongst the local community because the existing road network would have great difficulty coping with the scale of the transport operation, and because of possible odour problems from the factory. Fianna Fail TD Thomas Byrne said that he supported the residents and understood their fears about the proposed plant.
He urged residents to get the best possible advice in the short time before the closing date for submissions (18th March). "I would also urge residents to send out a strong message that they are not opposed to agricultural or rural development but that they must be consulted and it must not impinge unfairly on people`s lives," he said.
In its environmental impact study which accompanied the application, it stated the proposed development will be 500 to 600 m (1640 to 1970 ft) down an access road and the population impact will be relatively low. The proposed development will be kept isolated and separated from houses, and will help relieve the pressure on poultry growers in the Cavan/ Monaghan area who have trouble dispensing with chicken waste, the company believes.
Spokesman for the action group, Nick Nickleson, said they had "absolutely 100 percent" support of the residents who could be potentially affected by the development. The group is objecting on a number of grounds. It said the visual impact will be equivalent of a four storey building and would be visible firm all surrounding roads.
It expressed concerns about the proximity of a stream which flows into the river Boyne and the possibility of contamination from the plant. It is also worried about the potential of bad odours which, it believes, would affect businesses within a three kilometre (1.9 miles) radius of the building.
It said the roads around the proposed plant would not be able to handle the volume of traffic which would pass in and out. Lord Henry Mountcharles said he had "not heard a single resident" in favour of the development and he questioned why a facility processing chicken waste mostly from Cavan and Monaghan was being located in Meath.
In his objection, lodged on the 5th of March, he expressed concern about the potential impact on the river Boyne which flows at the back of his castle. "The scale of this development also poses a serious possibility of contamination to the local water table and an associated threat to health," he said. He also said it would have detrimental effect on the tourism industry in the area with so many amenities, including Newgrange and the site of the Battle of the Boyne, in relatively close proximity to the building.
Pat Coogan described the process involved at the proposed site. He said that, in time, when the process was up and running, the company could go for a recycling licence. He said that he had read a Environmental Protection Agency report on a similar project at Greenhills Compost in Cavan. He said it had taken residents seven years to close it after complaints about "atrocious" odour and other problems. People living near the site had been subjected to a 24-hour operation, he said.
"The flashlights on loaders in the plant went 'beep', 'beep', 'beep' morning, noon and night." We can expect to hear more on the controversial plans before and after the application process finishes.
