Public submissions sought on Nobber incineration project

The public have been asked by an Bord Pleanala to make further submissions on the proposed Nobber incinerator. The planning board has written to local residents asking them to make submissions on further information supplied by College Proteins following a request in June from the board. This followed an oral hearing into the application which was heard in Carrickmacross in October and November last year. The new information can be viewed at the offices of Meath County Council in Navan or An Bord Pleanála, Dublin 1 or can be viewed and downloaded from the website www.collegeproteinsbiomassheatandpowerplant.com Submissions can be made to Bord Pleanála until 5.30pm on 7th January and a fee of €50 is applicable to those who have not made a previous submission. College Proteins is seeking planning permission to build a biomass combined heat and power plant at the site of the company's existing rendering plant on the College Road in Nobber. North-East Against Incineration (NEAI) chairman Christy O'Reilly said: “Our campaign to stop this incinerator is ramping up again, 12 months after we highlighted serious flaws in College Proteins' proposed plans. An Bord Pleanála have since asked College Proteins to produce answers to the questions we raised at the oral hearing. Over the next eight weeks, NEAI and the people of the north-east have an opportunity to examine this information and respond to it.†He pointed out that, during the past 12 months, they had fundraising so that the group could continue the fight against the incinerator. He paid tribute to the work of the committee, supporters and generous donations from individuals and businesses. “Recently, one of the families involved on our committee donated the proceeds of an auction of a vintage tractor and baler to our fund. Many thanks for that and much appreciated. We would be delighted to receive any assistance we can get,†Mr O'Reilly added. Mr O'Reilly said the reason for building an incinerator had been because of the BSE epidemic. “That epidemic is over. It peaked in 2002 and been in decline since and there has been only one case of BSE this year. Do we need an incinerator? What is the reason now?†College Proteins' Tadhg Boyle, project leader for the proposal, said the company is complying with the request from Bord Pleanala for further information on this proposal. Deputy Thomas Byrne welcomed the request from Bord Pleanála and said he had been informed this week that since significant new information has been received on the development, and the views of the public needed to be sought out again. “I would urge all those with an interest in this development to make their views known to An Bord Pleanála. It is a very significant development for the north Meath area and, as such, it's vitally important to have as much input from local residents as possible,†he said.