Core Planning Reasoning
The development is an inappropriately scaled industrial operation for a rural location, which fails to justify a specific locational need for the open countryside and would endanger public safety by reason of traffic hazard on a substandard minor road network and the N2 national route.
Decision Maker's Conclusion
- The scale and nature of the industrial facility are contrary to the Meath County Development Plan's policies intended to direct large-scale commercial activity toward zoned urban centers and protected agricultural lands.
- The additional traffic and turning movements generated by the facility interfere with the safety and free flow of traffic on the adjoining substandard L-road and the nearby National Primary Route (N2).
- The site lacks adequate public infrastructure, specifically a public water connection and clear justification for the intensity of the wastewater treatment proposal relative to the scale of the operation.
Cited Policies (CDP)
ED POL 21SS OBJ 12SS OBJ 4TRAN POL 28RD POL 37ED POL 16SH OBJ 1MOV POL 24MOV POL 33Section 11.8.1
Decision Document Summary
This report concerns a first-party appeal by Gael Form Limited against the refusal of permission for the retention of a large-scale industrial facility (1.94 ha) used for formwork and scaffolding distribution in a rural part of County Meath. The site, a former quarry near Ashbourne, is situated in an open agricultural landscape accessed via a narrow third-class road. The Inspector acknowledges the applicant's role in the local economy but maintains that such an intensive industrial use belongs o...SOURCE PDFOpen Original
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