An environmental group has obtained leave to bring a legal challenge aimed at overturning planning permission for a development of 320 residential units in Trim, Co Meath.
Having admitted the action by Eco Advocacy to the High Court’s strategic infrastructure list on Thursday, Mr Justice Richard Humphreys fixed a hearing date in late February.
An early hearing date had been sought by Ross Aylward BL, for Keegan Land Holdings Ltd (KLH), which secured permission from An Bord Pleanála last October for the development at Charterschool Land, Manorlands, Trim.
Mr Aylward said his side believed it had “dotted all the I’s and crossed all the T’s” in its planning application and wanted the challenge determined as speedily as possible.
The board granted permission on October 27th last for the development, having designated it a strategic housing one, meaning a developer can apply directly to the board for planning approval rather than via the normal planning process.
Quarry
Oisin Collins, for the applicant, an environmental NGO based in Enfield, said he was satisfied to have it heard next month. In its action, Eco Advocacy says it has been involved in environmental matters for a number of years and has been concerned for some years about the manner in which KLH operated a quarry.
It says it is concerned about provisions of the 2016 Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act, under which the public are excluded from the pre-planning consultation leading to developments being designated strategic housing developments.
The group said its concerns over the proposed housing development by KLH in Trim included about its size, scale and height and its effect on the cultural and architectural heritage of Trim and on the environment.
The group claims none of the matters that it or others had raised during the planning process were properly considered by the board.
