A planning row has erupted between a steel manufacturing company owned by well-known Cork businessman, Noel C Duggan, and a group of residents over the level of noise and environmental pollution from the plant which they claim is causing “an extreme nuisance”.
The Church Street Residents Association in Millstreet, Co Cork has lodged an appeal with An Bord Pleanála against the recent decision of Cork County Council to grant retention permission to Noel C Duggan Structural Steel for an existing workshop at its factory near the centre of the town.
The workshop is used for the welding, cutting, drilling, cleaning and fabrication of steel used in construction.
In their appeal, the group of residents claim their row of terraced houses, which date from the late 1800s, predates the development of the steel manufacturing plant.
Solicitors for the residents’ association said their clients were “entitled to the peace and enjoyment and amenity of their properties without interruption from the development which will be aggravated by the grant of retention permission”.
They claim the plant is generating both noise and environmental pollution with noise levels regularly exceeding 100 decibels.
The residents have complained that machinery operating within the plant travels along a route immediately adjacent to the gardens of several houses on Church Street.
They claim the noise generated by the machinery, which consists of consistent beeping and humming sounds, as well as the sound of steel being moved and scraped, is “extremely disturbing”.
The residents said they are unable to enjoy any peace in their gardens while the factory is operating, which is between 7am and 5pm from Monday to Saturday.
Environmental pollution
In relation to environmental pollution, the group claims effusion and vapours from spray-painting and the treatment of steel travel beyond the boundary of the plant, which results in a chemical smell in gardens where residents grow vegetables.
They said they have concerns about the health impacts of such practices in an area where children and elderly people are living.
The residents argue that attempts to limit the noise and effects of spray-painting coming from the plant through planning conditions are “insufficient” as there is non-compliance with existing ones dating from 1997.
They claim the serving of enforcement notices against the company demonstrates it has “a history of non-compliance”.
“The fact that the applicant has had to make this application for retention permission speaks volumes in this regard,” they added.
Planning documents show the council opened enforcement files in the past four years against the company in relation to the alleged unauthorised construction of the workshop and the storage of steel products on the site.
The council noted the current case is an attempt by the company to regularise the development of the workshop.
However, council planners said the development on the 3.0 hectare site was compatible with the zoning of the lands.
They claimed the business of steel construction was generally acceptable in principle on the site provided it was operated in accordance with planning conditions.
However, the council noted that Noel C Duggan Structural Steel had not complied with its request to submit a revised layout plan for the plant,
The council said the company’s use of the south-eastern part of the site for steel-related activity was not acceptable because of its proximity to a residential area.
Council planners rejected the company’s claim that the issue was being addressed through an enforcement case.
Other council officials claimed a noise impact assessment provided by the company did not provide any comfort or reassurance that the development was not impacting on “the local noise climate”, while an updated version contained “very few details”.
The company also initially failed to provide a requested response as to how it would manage a requirement to keep the workshop’s doors closed.
One planner claimed the company’s response about the use of any painting process in the manufacture of steel was “disingenuous and not satisfactory”.
Among the conditions imposed in the grant of retention permission is that the south-eastern most section of the site is not used for any storage of steel or goods including raw materials and packaging or crates.
The council also imposed noise limits of 55 decibels during operating times at the plant with slightly lower limits at other times of the day, as well as a requirement for monitoring of noise levels to be carried out.
A ruling on the appeal by An Bord Pleanála is due in early December.
