Kilkee waste treatment plan permission upheld

A HIGH Court decision to uphold planning permission for a controversial new wastewater treatment plant in Kilkee...

A HIGH Court decision to uphold planning permission for a controversial new wastewater treatment plant in Kilkee, County Clare, has been welcomed by Uisce Éireann.

The court also refused residents, who are staunchly opposed, leave to appeal the decision to the Court of Appeal.

Uisce Éireann says the project will bring an end to the long-standing discharge of raw sewage into the sea at the traditional holiday spot which is hugely popular with Limerick day-trippers and holidaymakers.

The utility company says the project will also support future residential, economic and tourism development in Kilkee.

But local residents have strongly opposed the proposed plant and raised funds to back a judicial review against the development earlier this year.

They say that the proposed plant is not what is needed with no tertiary treatment facility and that it will be an eyesore and presents the risk of strong odours on the scenic cliff walk.

Campaigners said at the time that, while the judicial review had been unsuccessful, they remained determined to challenge the project.

The Save the Kilkee Cliff Walk campaign set up a GoFundMe page which raised nearly €100,000 to mount a High Court challenge against the decision to grant planning permission for the plant to Uisce Éireann but failed in that bid last month.

Opponents of the plant want a “proper, tertiary treatment plant. Uisce Éireann says Kilkee needs a treatment plant – we know it does. We’ve been campaigning for that for more than a decade but this is not a treatment plant. It’s a slurry tank.”

There are also huge concerns that the nearby stream, which runs down the the shore “and which children play in” is to be used as an overflow for the tanks.

The campaign leaders claim the water company have treated the locals “with utter contempt”.