Company behind proposal to build Ringaskiddy incinerator welcomes reactivation of planning application

THE company behind the proposal to build a ‘resource recovery centre’ — or waste incinerator — on the shores of Cork Harbour in Ringaskiddy has welcomed the An Bórd Pleanála confirmation it is reactivating the planning application for the project.

Indaver NV, trading as Indaver Ireland, issued a brief one line statement on Friday in response to a query from The Echo following confirmation this week that letters had been sent by the planning authority to the solicitors of the campaigning group set up to oppose an incinerator in Cork Harbour 24 years ago, as well as other concerned parties informing them the application had been reactivated.

“Indaver looks forward to actively engaging with An Bord Pleanála during the next phase of the planning process for its Ringaskiddy Resource Recovery Facility,” said a spokesperson on behalf of the company, which is based in Belgium but has locations in Cork as well as Co Meath.

The project was first mooted a number of years ago.

Oral hearings were held by An Bórd Pleanála on the proposal in 2016 and planning permission was granted in 2018. This led to a legal challenge mounted by Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment (CHASE) which led to the quashing of the planning permission in the High Court in 2021.

The judge also ordered that the planning application, rather than be set aside entirely, be sent back to the point in the planning process before the Bórd Pleanála adjudication but after the oral hearings.

In a statement to The Echo, a spokesperson for An Bórd Pleanála said: “Following a High Court Order quashing the Board’s original decision on this case, the case was remitted to the Board for further consideration and determination.”

The spokesperson said that given the passage of time, the applicant has been required to furnish further information in relation to effects on the environment of the proposed development.

“The holding of an oral hearing will be at the discretion of the Board and will depend on applicant’s response to the further information request.”