Windfarm idea is ‘absolutely ridiculous’
Planning permission granted for seven wind turbines, each almost three times the height of County Hall, has been met with fierce cross-party opposition.
An Bord Pleanála recently granted permission to Cork-based Wingleaf Ltd to develop a windfarm in Curraglass/Derreendonee near Gougane Barra after Cork County Council had initially refused the proposal.
An Bord Pleanála’s own planning inspector was also against the proposal, saying it would have a significant adverse environmental and visual impact and is not sustainable at such a highly sensitive location. It’s understood the wind turbines would be the tallest of their kind in the country once completed.
The location for the development is approximately 2,000 metres from St Finbarr’s Oratory, a monastery founded by the patron saint of Cork St Finbarr in the sixth century.
An online petition launched by Gaeltacht development committee Coiste Forbartha has reached almost 10,000 signatures in just over a week.
“Not only will the turbines be visible from a number of angles day and night, including red warning lights on each of them, there will also be constant noise and flicker from them,” the committee stated.
Speaking at a recent meeting of Cork County Council, Fianna Fáil Cllr Gobnait Moynihan asked councillors to “think of the Canadian Rockies” when she described the beauty and significance of the land being considered for the windfarm.
The Macroom Cllr said: “An Bord Pleanála ignored the community, Cork County Council and their own inspector and went ahead and approved this. Alternative energy forms are needed and wind energy forms part of that. Nobody's arguing that, but the problem here is the location of these turbines.
“You can't make another Guagán or move Guagán somewhere else but you can find another location for these turbines. It goes against the County Development Plan we are spending an awful lot of time putting together and in one second An Bord Pleanála can just ignore all of that.”
Fine Gael Cllr Michael Murtagh of Carrigaline said he was “flabbergasted” by the idea of it and describied it as an “absolutely ridiculous idea”. “I know Gougane Barra very well. I was married there and I've been there every single year of my life bar a handful, camping on Lough Allua and paddling all the ways from Inchigeeladh past Ballingeary and then hiking from there all the ways to Guagán. It's astounding that this is going on there, to ruin a place like Guagán.”
Mayor of Cork Cllr Gillian Coughlan said: “Us as a body corporate and the planners as the executive made the right decision in defending the heritage and the remoteness of Gougane Barra. This is the thing about Gougane Barra and other remote parts of Ireland, remoteness is becoming a commodity in itself and we need to protect it. I really am aghast at the way in which this decision has been arrived at.” Cork County Council will write letters to both Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan and to An Bord Pleanála strongly opposing the decision to grant planning permission for the turbines.
The Cork Independent reached out to both An Bord Pleanála and the parent company of Wingleaf Ltd, Enerco Energy; however, no response was received by time of print.
To sign the petition, visit change.org and search for Save the peace & tranquility of Gougane Barra for future generations.