'Be worried about superdump' - Usk

The Usk & District campaign against the Greenstar ‘superdump’ which recently was given planning permission in their area says Kilcullen people should also be very concerned about it.

“Kilcullen has already suffered for years with the KTK facility to the north of the town, which has just recently closed,” says the campaign’s chairman Pat Higgins. “But if the one in our area goes ahead, Kilcullen is downwind of it and it could be even worse for a long time to come.”

And he described it as ‘arrogance’ that Greenstar had announced the closure of the Silliot Hill facility at the same time claiming they had the Usk facility coming on stream to take over.

“They had to retract that, as we have a judicial review under way against the An Bord Pleanala decision,” he noted.

Meanwhile, following last week’s visit by Fine Gael Leader Enda Kenny to the Usk campaigners, at the behest of Martin Heydon, the local Fine Gael Candidate in next year's County Council elections, the organisation says it has been given a ‘new sense of hope’.

“He’s the first party Leader to come and listen to our plight,” says Pat Higgins. “We’ve been campaigning for eight years, and the local councillors have been very good, but we’ve had no success getting the other politicians ‘on high’ to come down and hear us. Mr Kenny’s visit was a breath of fresh air, and hopefully he’ll be able to bring our situation to some notice.”

Pat Higgins said the Fine Gael Leader clearly outlined the limitations of what he could and couldn’t achieve as a politician in opposition, but he had promised to see what he could do to raise the profile of their case.

“We’re devastated that the situation has reached where it is,” Mr Higgins says. “It has the potential to destroy our community and no one seems to realise that, least of all An Bord Pleanala, who seem to over-rule even their own inspectors. They don’t appear to have any respect for even High Court judges, they seem to be a law unto themselves.”

In 2006 An Bord Pleanala granted permission to Greenstar for the Usk Dump against its own inspector's recommendations, and despite the fact that Kildare County Council had previously nominated a site at Drehid in North Kildare as the location for a new ‘super’ waste facility for the county.

The campaign obtained a successful High Court judicial review of the decision of the Bord. However, following three oral hearings and many deferrals the permission was again granted in August of this year. The campaign now has an application in for another High Court judicial review to be heard in early 2009.

Brian Byrne.