Councillors united in opposition to proposed South Roscommon wind farm
Upper part of the windmill for generating electricity
South Roscommon councillors have voiced their unanimous opposition to a proposed wind farm.
The Cornafulla Wind Farm, a joint venture partnership between Bord na Móna (BnM) and SSE Renewables, is being planned on BnM’s Cornafulla bog landbank. It has met significant opposition locally with concerns being raised about how it could impact on the area’s environment and heritage.
The six councillors of the Athlone Municipal District - Cllr Domnick Connolly, Cllr Valerie Duffy, Cllr Laurence Fallon, Cllr Emer Kelly, Cllr John Keogh, Cllr Tony Ward - are tabling a motion for this Monday’s plenary meeting of Roscommon County Council, opposing the development.
“We, the 6 councillors in South Roscommon, strongly feel that the proposed wind farm development at Cornafulla is not in keeping with the County Development Plan and its associated strategies,” the councillors said in their motion. “We propose that any planning bodies involved with the process are made aware of the sensitivities of the area and give a detailed outline of acknowledging these in their decision-making.”
Recently a spokesperson for the companies said they are committed to ongoing engagement with the local community in relation to the proposed Cornafulla wind farm development.
“Over the coming months, the wind farm project team will undertake on-site surveys on Cornafulla Bog, including ecology surveys, continuing ornithology surveys, aquatic surveys, heritage surveys and site investigation works. Additionally, the project team will commence a series of off-site surveys, such as noise monitoring around the site and environmental baseline surveys of the proposed grid connection.”
The spokesperson said that information drawn from this investigation phase will inform the proposed layout for the Cornafulla wind farm development in the months ahead, followed by another series of community consultation events.
Prior to a planning permission submission, there will be a full and rigorous environmental impact assessment, she added.
